Touhou: Wings of Certain Shift
by CFW Gamereaper
Summary: Gensokyo's newest visitors bring with them chaos, confusion, and alot of strange happenings. Find out what happens when you put a mismatched family of humans and youkai with an even more mismatched family of elementalists! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Time Begins

_Touhou: Wings of Certain Shift_

"Will, Luna lost my favorite bow!" Annette shouted down the hallway. The luxury cruiser rocked around occasionally, but the ship's sturdy build kept us from going through seasickness. Well, save for my poor girlfriend, May.

"Luna, give her back the bow! We need to get ready for arrival!" I shouted to her in her room. Again she had her, or rather MY, headphones on and was playing on MY laptop again. I went ahead and plucked Annette's bow from Luna's pocket, exactly where I knew it was. That was the thing with Luna, one of my numerous sister's along with Annette, she never kept track of anything. I returned Annette her hair bow and put it on so she could go help Stella find her shoes. I happened to catch May heading out from the bathroom, paler than usual.

"Hey, firestarter, get a little caught up with the waves?" I teased her.

"Ugh, I hate boats. Wish we could've gotten a plane instead." May complained, stumbling around in her room while trying to get ready.

"Could be worse, at least we're almost ready to go. We might actually have to wait on my sisters. I love 'em to death but they can't keep their acts together." I no more than said that and I saw Annette chasing Grace down the hallway. Stella, the most peaceful of my sister's, was trying to catch up and calm Annette down.

"Dammit all, what'd Grace do this time..." I sighed.

"Stella will take care of it, I'm sure. Just go check on Corey, Rena, and Satomi." May instructed. I nodded and took off down the hallways, well-lit by numerous lamps and ceiling lights. I almost ran right into the well prepared and rather elegant looking sister, Melody.

"Hey, you look nice. Could you be a saint and go get Luna off the laptop so she can get ready." I rapidly said with fainting breath.

"Sure, Will." She said with a warm smile. Grace, Annette, and Stella come rushing back down the hallway at full speed. I held myself out to block them and they obeyed...to an extent.

"Whatever she did, ignore it for now Annette, we've gotta get ready already!" I calmed her down in my own way. She shook in anger but went about her business, as did Grace and Stella. I made my way down the winding halls and down to where my friends were. I knocked on Corey's door, hoping he would be either ready or getting ready. He was an awesome friend but he's always one step behind the others when it comes to traveling. Finally he opened the door, wearing his jacket inside out and his hair a mess.

"Taking your time?" I asked.

"Yeah well it doesn't help that nobody bothers to wake me up when I need to be woken up." replied Corey, brushing his hair maniacly while trying to force his shoes on.

"Are the others ready?"

"Rena and Satomi are, Aurora's still getting ready though."

"Want me to go check on your sister?"

"Please and thanks." He shooed me out of the door, wanting me to check on his logic-obsessed little sister. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. I looked behind to see Rena dressed nicely in a kimono, walking over to Satomi's room to help her get hers on. Rena is Corey's girlfriend and Satomi is Rena's long-time friend.

"Almost ready in there?" I asked, wondering if she fell asleep or something.

"Approximately 95% finished with preparations." She replied in a half-shout, half-moan.

"Alright." I replied, walking back to Luna's room to see if she was ready yet. Melody was practically pulling on Luna trying to pry her away from the laptop. I shut the laptop and stole back my headphones, letting them hang on my neck.

"Aww, I don't wanna go Will!" Luna complained, her childish angst being one thing I don't want to deal with right now.

"Do it for me? Please?" I tried playfully coaxing her.

"..mm...okay...only for you." She mumbled. Melody giggled then walked out of the room. I checked in on Annette and Stella and they were finally finished and ready to go. All my sisters, Grace, Annette, Stella, Melody, and Luna, were ready along with May. Rena and Satomi were ready, Aurora was almost ready and Corey, I think was almost there. At this point, I was almost ready to pass out. Why did I have to be the conductor of this crazy concoction of lazy and unprepared friends and relatives?

(Meanwhile, in Gensokyo)

"It's hot out again..." Reimu looked towards the sky.

"Yeah, it's been like this for a while now. It's hard to get to the village anymore." Marisa replied, adjusting her hat to better shade her.

"Not even our usual friends come around anymore."

"Speaking of usual friends, I haven't seen Yukari for a while."

"You're right about that. It worries me a little, I hope she isn't causing any problems..." Reimu made herself tea, talking and thinking all the while.

"Hey, could you make me some?" Marisa asked, looking back into the shrine. She walked back inside, feeling a change in the humidity again. As soon as Reimu finished making her tea, Marisa stealthily scooped it up and started drinking it. Reimu gave her a distressed look then went to make some tea to drink for herself. A sudden gust of wind rattled the shrine, giving a nice breeze.

"That felt good." Marisa sighed. She looked over to the door to see Aya panting and retracting her wings.

"Hello Aya." Reimu gave a hidden sigh of distress.

"Afternoon Reimu, I don't suppose you have any information on the overly high temperatures?" She asked, rooting for info as always.

"I wish I knew, I'd go fix it myself." Reimu replied. Aya played around with her camera, ready to take a picture of anything she could find of interest.

"Maybe it's Yukari?" Marisa guessed.

"It better not be, she knows better than that anyways." said Reimu.

"It wouldn't hurt to check just in case though." Aya added. She finished that sentence and a familiar black hole appeared with a certain blond-headed youkai coming out of it.

"I heard my name?" Yukari asked. Only half of her body came out of the black hole, but when she wanted a better look around she hopped out completely.

"Are you the one making the weather so hot?" asked an accusing Marisa.

"That's quite an accusation you're making." replied Yukari.

"Being blunt about it isn't gonna solve the problem any faster." Reimu mumbled to herself as she finished making her tea. She kept a firm grip on the handle this time to make sure a certain thieving witch didn't get ahold of it.

"Are you sure you're not the cause? Any off-shoot effects of a magic spell gone awry? Chaos at the border?" Aya tried and tried to pry out information.

"Try none of the above. Even if I could change the weather, why would I want to? I still shudder thinking about the Snow in Spring incident. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." finished Yukari, already leaping back through her black hole.

"Work to do? That already doesn't sound good..." said Marisa.

(Back on the real world)

"So this is Neo-Japan?" I asked, taking a whiff of the ocean air and hint of rustic pollution nearby.

"Yup, this is our birthland. Come on, I'll show everyone to our hotels." Rena led on, getting us on a unique looking bus. It had pictures of well known anime, some of which Aurora worked on.

"So what do the Japanese think of your works, Aurora?" I asked, getting her to look away from her hologram projector for a few moments to talk.

"They enjoy it, but alot of fans of more original anime would like me to revive series that remain dead for a very viable reason. I consider it an honor but it's improbably to ever happen. I'm more preferable to custom works anyways." replied Aurora with a moanish kind of voice. Sounds like she didn't get much sleep but that's a little normal for someone like her.

"The signs are so cool here!" Grace and May admired. The skyscrapers here loomed over the town with cyber-like signs latched onto them. There was maybe only one small building all the way to our hotel, which was strange looking. It was looming over the streets like a tidal wave but when we saw that it was actually connected to the building across from the street, it suddenly looked alot safer.

"Don't worry, I know the way around here. Let's drop off our stuff and we can get to looking around." Satomi informed, being the second in command as far as our tour guiding went. I made sure to keep May nearby so she wouldn't get lost and so that if I got lost, she'd have someone to be lost with. I think I might've just hurt myself thinking too hard about that...

"Welcome, how can I help?" The receptionist asked. I was so busy looking around that I didn't even notice they were already shipping off our bags to our rooms. Everything's done for you if it's paid for, at least that's what Rena's been telling me. She must know some good connections here.

Rena gave a random squee of joy that all of us could hear.

"What is it?" Corey asked, joining her over by a poster.

"They're having the cherry blossom festival tonight! We absolutely have to go, it's the best way to start off our vacation!" chimed Rena as she started hopping in joy, her red flowing hair bouncing with her. Even Satomi seemed to smile in excitement.

"Explanation?" Corey asked.

"They're festivals celebrating the blooming of the Prunus Serrulata and are generally held in between the months of March and May. Usual activities include, but are not limited to, watching the trees, cooking, games, shopping in some areas, and ceremonies." Aurora churned out her logic, not even looking to her holograms for information. I still don't understand how such an intellegent girl can be the sister of the brutish Corey.

"Thanks, I think. So what do we need to do to get in?" Corey asked.

"Nothing, just show up in traditional dress and enjoy." added Satomi.

"Sounds fruity..." Annette commented. I really was hoping she would be able to keep her mouth shut and not piss off the natives here, but that might be harder than what I thought. I could already see some wandering eyes watching my loudmouth sister.

"Quite literally in some cases. I've seen them before and some of them have cherries on them. They can be a little sour, but they're good." Melody turned around the conversation to the brighter side. Everyone else seemed interested by the idea and just like that our plans were set.

"What should we do until then? It doesn't start until seven." noted May.

"There's an exhibit on the newest Reformed technology not far from this location." Aurora stated.

"Sorry Aurora, but I think we know all we need to know about the elemental powers just about everyone in this world has." Annette brutally shot down her plans. Aurora gave her a hateful look past her very long blonde hair and further strengthened their rivalry.

Rena and Satomi had led us to some of their old hideouts and such just to bring back the nostalgia. We happened upon an old shrine farther out of town, being one of Rena's forgotten hideouts. It looked like it was on the brink of destruction by now, but it's walls didn't mind sheltering us for now.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Stella asked, looking around with finicky eyes.

"Yeah, even if the walls fall, it ain't gonna hurt any." Grace did her best to clear out the cobwebs from the doorways.

"Remember when we used to go 'ghost hunting' here? Satomi?" Rena asked, looking around for her friend.

"What's this about ghost hunting?" Corey asked to no avail. Rena was already dashing about the shrine to help find her. I tuned in to my elemental power over sound, or Echocrafter abilities for short, and perked up my ears to find her. Strangely, my sonar was only picking up a strange and thick darkness about the shrine.

"Will, you okay?" May held onto my hand and looked at me with her loving eyes.

I shook my head and said, "No worries little angel, I'm okay."

"Quit working yourself up, silly. We go through too many adventures as it is, let's not add more to the list." She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and ran off. She's my girlfriend and I love her to no end, but this place gave me a strange feeling. Something bizaare was radiating from here. I shook my head again and started walking over to Rena who found Satomi.

"I thought I saw our little friends again." said Satomi in a cryptic manner, wearing an innocent smile that was covered a little by her long purple hair.

"Sure you did. I'm sure the strange girl with the short blonde hair's been wondering where we've been." Rena gave a chuckle and led us back out. I took one last look at the shrine from over my shoulder and immediately started to feel some weird energy radiating from it. There's something hidden there, but I don't know what.

"Something on your mind?" Stella asked, looking at me with her golden eyes hidden a little by her long golden hair.

"There's something weird about that shrine. It doesn't feel normal. Feel's like something's outta wack in there." I shrugged and kept walking with the group, my sisters and friends motioning for me to get closer.

"You're thinking too much again, relax and have fun. Wow, can't believe those words came outta my mouth..." Annette preached, fixing the bow in her short blonde hair that complemented Stella's. I gave a smile and shrugged off that shrine for now. I vowed though that before the festival, we'd come back at least once more. After the festival we're moving further into town and I wanna see what I can find here before we go. Everyone finally submitted to my crazy request and now all that was left to do was relax while we waited for the time to return.

"Will, you're gonna lead us straight to hell." Corey bluntly said.

"Seems to be one of my specialties..."

(In Gensokyo)

"I completely forgot that the Cherry Blossom Festival is tonight." Reimu noted while walking around town with Marisa.

"Sure is. I'm thinking about taking a trip down to the Scarlet Devil Manor and see what all's going on." Marisa replied, relaxed as usual on their walk to the town square.

"I hope you don't plan to rob them blind like usual." sighed Reimu.

"I don't rob them! Damn Aya for spreading that around..."

"Just try not to make any of the youkai mad." Reimu tried to keep Marisa out of trouble but truthfully, the likely hood of there NOT to be a commotion was slim. They exited town and flew back to the shrine where Marisa had already taken off. It was just Reimu for that night, watching the cherry blossoms from her back porch and enjoying some tea. It was peaceful as the lucious smelling wind sifted through the shrine occasionally. As the night approached, it started to cool down enough to be tolerable.

"Finally...it's cooled down..." Reimu sighed and smiled while watching the sun go down. It was nearing nighttime and all was peaceful.

For right now anyways...

(In the real world)

"I'm telling you, there's something else here." I begged for the others to listen. We were here for around half an hour with no results.

"Will, your guesswork is illogical. There's no bleed activity between any..." Aurora was stopped midsentence by her beeping machine she had attached to her wrist. She homed in on a source of paranormal activity, following it inside the mansion. It almost seemed to move, keeping at the same level of beeping and vibrating but moving forward into the shrine.

"This makes no logical sense for there to be a moving dimensional bleed..." Aurora started to secondguess herself.

"Is it...a ghost?" Luna asked, worried likely over nothing. I pulled her closer to me, comforting her.

"Relax sister, I don't thing it's a ghost."

"No, it's something twice as screwed up..." Annette pointed to a mysterious black figure in the distance. I felt the ground disappear from under me and heard only the screaming of my sisters and girlfriend. I could see ferociously insane sights like floating eyeballs and darkness that blended with light. I knew there was something hidden here! But whatever it was, I wont get to see it until I hit solid ground...

Well, that wraps up chapter 1 of my almost-crossover of Touhou and a work of my very own, called Angelight, that's hoping to see a self-publication date of later this year. I don't quite want to call this a crossover yet cause it's crossover hasn't even been published yet, but I think that the selection of characters I'm adding will blend quite...interestingly with the Touhou universe. Catch ya'll on the next update!


	2. Chapter 2: Dementia Dance

Chapter 2: Demented Dream

I woke up with dust all over my jacket and my friends just barely getting up from smacking into the floor. I looked around to see a multitude of human looking creatures starting at me, some having wings, some having clouds following them, all of them strange in one form or another. I couldn't see too well as to where we were exactly, it looked like we were outside of a mansion of sorts.

"I smell...blood..." Melody noted, getting up and becoming frightened by the creatures around us.

"Who are they?"

"Did Yukari bring them here?"

"What in Gensokyo are they wearing?" The crowd asked looking at us. I conjured my guitar just in case, holding my Echocrafter powered guitar tightly. All of us were battle ready when a distant girl with short blue hair and a pink dress appeared on the balcony.

"Why are you interrupting my party?" She asked with a childish tone.

"How in the blue hell did we even get here?" Annette blurted out rudely with her loud mouth. Her words made me hold my guitar tighter, the only thing that might barely be able to save my life here. The powers of sound only go so far.

"I don't know, but this party is for youkei only, no humans! Get out!" She commanded, getting her...maid I guess she was. She had a handful of knives in both hands and gave us a menacing look. Instinct told me to trigger a massive chord on my guitar, sending fierce shockwaves that distracted everyone long enough for us to escape.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Corey shouted, conjuring his Warforger powers and making not only a copy of himself, but wings of steel to match. Annette grew her wings and we assortedly grabbed onto a flight-capable member of our group and sped off. I could feel knives and fireballs grazing my feet as we zoomed off into the distance.

"What were those things?" Grace asked, about as confused as the rest of us.

"Real youkai...never thought I'd see it!" Rena admired the foul creatures behind us, still spewing fire and curses.

"Youkai?" Luna asked.

"Their demon-like spirits of Japanese folklore. I always thought them to be just folktales but their real!" She explained in an astonished tone.

"How illogical..." Aurora wanted to shrug off what she just saw but there was no shrugging that off. Those weren't humans, far from it.

"How did we even get here?" Satomi asked, looking around at the large expanse of forest spanning miles.

"However we got here, there doesn't seem to be a clear-cut way out." Grace noted. She was right, we've got no way back, no idea of what's in here, no clue about where we even are.

"Will, I'm scared..." Luna shivered while we held onto Corey, his wings being the only thing keeping us aloft.

"It's gonna be alright, sis, we'll find the way out." I tried to comfort her but it was hard to even hear over the whipping winds.

"We gotta land somewhere, my wings are getting tired!" Annette shouted distantly. Both Coreys nodded and pointed to a distant clearing with a dirt road we could follow into the far off town ahead. Landing softly, I noticed that it was rather peaceful out. The only real noise around was the crickets chirping and occasional bird chirps. The fireflies moved around in groups of little yellow orbs and the moon was shining briliantly.

"It's nice out..." Satomi whispered, happily entranced by the nighttime forest.

"Aurora, did we drop into the Dementia Void again?" May asked, keeping a fireball in each hand should she need it. Aurora still had power over technology here, even though that mansion back there looked fairly outdated.

"My scans indicate that we've not dropped into the Dementia Void. Rather, we've entered somewhere entirely different. There's absolutely no signal here so I have no access to more proper information. Quite a curious thing..." She trailed off, mumbling to herself while tapping away at her wrist-mounted hologram generator. I could hear a movement in the brush nearby. Rena and May were closest, armed for an attack. Rena prepared a wind scythe and launched it at a nearby tree limb, a shrouded figure falling from it.

"Hey!" The figure shouted.

"Hello!" Luna cheerfully shouted back. An angry looking boy...well, er...it might be a girl, popped her head up from the bushes.

"What was that all about?" It asked, brushing itself off and moving out from the bushes.

"We haven't one clue about what's in this forest. Better safe than sorry." Grace defended Rena.

"Safe doesn't happen out here. It's kill or be killed." The little girl replied.

"Who are you anyways?" Annette asked.

"I'm the bug youkai, Wriggle Nightbug! Have you not been here long?" Wriggle asked.

"No, we got teleported from a shrine to a mansion and we haven't any idea of how it happened." Melody politely replied. Tuning in to a specific frequency, I whispered words only certain sisters of mine could hear.

"No offense to any of you, but I'm going to let Melody do the talking. If we can befriend this thing, we might get to a village alive." Nobody argued, which was a first, though Annette was giving me a disdained look.

"You must've been brought here by the border youkai. She's a difficult one, brings strange things here for no reason at all. You'll be lucky if you can convince her to let you get back to the outside world." Wriggle informed us, sitting on a nearby rock. As she sat, a bunch of insects crawled out from underneath and she just played with them! I could already see some of the girls being grossed out, but that was a problem best saved for later.

"If you wouldn't mind, could you bring us to the border youkai?" asked Melody.

"Why would I help humans out?" Wriggle shot back.

"Cause if you don't, we'll be more than happy to wring the information out of your throat!" Annette blurted out. Dammit Annette, shut your mouth!

"You think you can take me down that easily? Ha! I'd be happy to eat you alive." Wriggle became cocky, her insects getting excited as they moved around her. I could already see Corey fidgeting for a fight. With his Warforger powers over machinery, he's got more than enough firepower to defend us. Question is though, are bullets even effective here?

"Says the girl that looks like a dude!" Annette chuckled to herself.

"I do not look like a boy, I'm a girl! That's it, you're in for it now!" Wriggle prepared for combat but using something I didn't understand. She emitted glowing orbs from her hands, some colored blue, some colored green. Annette and Rena fired away with their wind scythes and I readied my guitar.

"Will, don't use the guitar, you might alert others!" May warned. I warned her too about using fire in a forest like this. She opted to stay back with Luna to keep her safe. Corey primed his dual mini-guns and Aurora readied her shock cannon. Corey opened fire, but to his confusion, he was doing the same thing Wriggle was!

"The hell, what happened to my bullets?" Corey complained. He kept firing though at Wriggle, the little annoying bug finding it hard to escape. Wriggle filled the night sky with these 'bullets' but Corey outright blotted out everything in sight with a hail of bullets. Aurora kept the ground electrified to avoid any hidden bug attacks. Strangely the electricity didn't even touch me or the others but I'm not complaining. Wriggle, after countless hits from our group, pulled out a sort of card from her pocket. I stood back, so tempted to use my guitar for a sonic blast or two.

"Lamp Sign: Firefly Phenomenon!" Wriggle activated a hellstorm of glowing orbs, making all of us hit the dirt. Aurora, Rena, and Annette all fired storm energy at her, wearing her down little by little. The bullets just kept coming and coming, bullet hail after bullet hail. Wriggle grew smart and started aiming her fire towards some of us. Corey and Rena had to dodge out of the way, getting up and returning fire but only a few times did they hit. Finally the storm had ended and she was back to firing normal bullets. For a little bug girl she had alotta fight in her! I grew impatient waiting for this fight to end and finally started striking chords that shook the earth. The weird thing though was that wherever a shockwave came out of the ground from, a trail of those glowing orbs followed. What were these strange things? I started getting crafty, narrowing my shockwave's radius to the point that it would be like a needle coming from the ground. My tactic only worked occasionally but it scared me that I could be disturbing any kinds of creatures doing this. I gave the little bug a good jolt before retreating back out of sight. Corey spewed bullets at her faster than anyone, but they didn't do much damage at all. Luna and Stella stood back with Grace, May, and I, observing the fight and keeping the defenseless safe. The girl fell finally, a consortment of bugs surrounding her in comfort.

"Had enough?" I asked, standing over her.

"Your danmaku, it's good, not bad at all...but don't underestimate me just yet, I'll be back later for a rematch." And just like that Wriggle was gone into the woods.

"She was an interesting little one." Melody noted.

"That was a she?" Luna asked.

A sudden flash of seriously bright light blinded me for moment. I almost dropped my guitar from that.

"What a scoop! This is gonna be great for the newspaper!" A winged youkai dissappeared into the night.

"Come on, we gotta keep moving." Corey instructed brutally, ignoring the strange bird-person. Luna stayed right by my side, holding onto my hand like a frightened child. Melody, again, giggled at Luna's child-like personality. May didn't seem to mind that one hand was taken, so she grabbed onto my other hand.

"The stars...they have something about them that's different than earth..." Stella admired with a dreamy sigh, almost walking right into a tree.

"Head outta the stars, space cadet, we've got walkin' to do." Annette redirected her favorite little sister.

"Anyone who has their phone on them, it'd be a good idea to turn it off. We need to conserve the battery power." Said Rena, who was so stunned from seeing real youkai that she lost her voice for a while. Everyone took her commands and shut off their phones. Aurora needn't do that though, her Warforger genes make her a living power supply. Of course, she can only power things of her own like her hologram projector, but at least she has something we desperately need in a situation like this.

"Aurora, do you have anything you can use to scan the area?" May asked, cleaning pieces of grass out of her long almond-colored hair.

"I'll launch a micro-satellite but it'll take approximately two days to successfully map the area." Aurora replied, conjuring her rocket launcher that she rarely uses and firing it high into the sky. It peeled apart as it got higher, revealing a little piece of machinery that now drifted in the distant stars.

"Remind me to get that before we leave" finished Aurora. I took a look around to see what was following us. I wanted to guess it was Wriggle but the red glowing eyes said otherwise.

"Rena, Satomi, what all do you know about these youkai things?" I asked, curious about the unnatural creatures.

"They're mainly folklore, like what Americans used to know as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Usually though, their depicted as spirits or phantoms." Satomi educated us, losing her footing constantly while wearing her kimono.

"The youkai can be friendly sometimes, but any of the ones in the wild usually behave like wild animals." added Rena. I could tell she was regretting wearing a kimono on the trip just like Satomi was. Maybe there'll be a clothes shop or something there so we can get them into some normal clothes. Or whatever they have to offer. The trip was silent but I could feel the tension around everyone, nobody wanted to so much as step on a twig in fear that we'll be mercilessly attacked. Just that little bug girl was a challenge, I don't want to think about what'll happen if we come across something a little more fearsome. The dirt road was hard to see in the night and the trees looming over the road didn't help either. I could hear the shifting around us, all the movement and stalking the youkai did made me wary.

"Will." Luna whispered.

"What is it, sis?"

"I gotta go to the bathroom really bad. REALLY bad." Luna made my worst fears come true.

"Are you sure you can't wait?" I asked. Luna shook her head and looked around frantically.

"Grace, Melody, could you help her find a place to use the bathroom?" I asked, looking behind my shoulder to see them secretely playing on their phones.

"Do it and I didn't see a thing." I bribed them.

"Anything for you, bro!" Grace and Melody ran off with Luna while the rest of us took up a hilltop position for better defense. Corey outright refused to let his machinery meld back into his body, he was far too paranoid to listen. I kept my guitar at the ready at all times, letting it hang off my back.

"I wonder..." Aurora mumbled loud enough for me to hear.

"Wondering are we?"

"Hm? Oh..yeah. I was just wondering what all data I can extract here. The native wildlife and plantlife is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Some of these could even help develop new Reformed powers. Power over plantlife doesn't sound bad at all actually..." Aurora drifted off into her studies again. For a kid that's only thirteen, she's alot smarter than she should be.

"Did you know about it?", "No, I had no idea...", "Why haven't we ever known about this?..." Rena and Satomi conversed. They were isolated from the group but Rena still had her wind scythes ready for combat. Corey shifted one of his mini-guns back into his arm in exchange for his sniper he dubbed "Headshot". Looking through the scope, he picked out targets along the road to the village, hoping to clear somewhat of a path. He fired a loud shot but instead of earning a headshot, he just managed to piss off a whole group of wolf like creatures.

"Die you little bastards, damn!" Corey complained, firing off volleys of sniper rounds. Barely could I make out that he was shooting those green bullets, revealing his lack of power.

"Get ready for a battle!" I warned the others. Stella helped Corey with the long range, firing her bow made of pure light. Her arrows left a streak of light as the passed by though, like it was a laser. What kind of fruity hell did we get into? A group of clouds shielded the moonlight now, darkness getting worse. Luna and the others had finally come back and noticed our problem.

"Rena, make it rain!" Luna cheered. Rena looked up and made a fist with her hand, her Aeroslider powers over rain and wind making a quick storm. Luna held her hand up next and froze the rain in place, centering it on certain enemies and made it rain shards of death that looked suspiciously like diamonds. More wolves came from the sides, working their way up the tower. Aurora fired at one group with her shock cannon, only knocking it down. Rena and Annette took the other side, successfully knocking down the pair of beasts. They refused to stay down, getting back up after countless attempts. The only ones making success were Corey and Stella, somehow finding the trick to killing the youkai. Satomi, stuck to the ground thanks to an angry wolf youkai, almost lost her face if Grace hadn't stepped in to drive it off with her survival knife. That only pissed it off, making those two flee.

"Let's move!" I shouted to my group. We had to get moving and fast cause these beasts weren't gonna wait for anything. The village was close enough for a sprint there, but the dogs were hot on our heels. I can't take this physical pressure!

"Run faster, Will!" Luna shouted to me. I was dead last in this race for survival, tempted to use my last resort weapon. I could feel the creature nipping at my very pants, it's hot breath moistening my pants.

"Screw it!" I shouted, priming the Heaven Shaker, the ultimate sound based attack. It was a large bass speaker that appeared from my back, capable of sonic blasts that could take down buildings. I braced myself, planting my foot firmly in the ground in a dead stop and fired a sonic boom. The dogs flew far back, their limbs flailing in the air while I crawled into the village with others. My speaker retreated back into my body and I rested whether I was being seen or not.

"What a rush..." Stella gasped for air. Rena and Annette seemed fine, along with May and Corey, but the rest of us were dying from the rush. Our predators slowly walked back to the forest, soon hidden by nighttime shadows. Inside the town, we had plenty of people looking at us for some reason.

"Uh, we come in peace?" said Grace loudly. The stares slowly died down but people still watched us moving around. There were more of those weird youkai people that looked like humans but really weren't.

"Well, we're here. Now what?" May asked.

"Excuse me, but you look like you're new here." A voice interrupted. I looked over my shoulder, then turned to face a girl with long silver hair and wearing a blue dress with a blue hat to match. The hat was kinda neat, it looked like a little building.

"Yes, we're quite new here..." I answered before Annette could make one of her smart-ass comments. I was already predicting it and I already know she's giving me one of her glares because I didn't give her time to make a smart-ass comment.

"I thought so. Well, my name is Keine Kamishirasawa, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Keine greeted solemnly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Keine. My name is Will Venitus, these ladies next to me are my sisters, Luna, Stella, Annette, Melody, and Grace." I pointed to each of my sisters standing orderly to my right.

"My name's Corey Sairif, these girls are my sister Aurora, my lover Rena Yoake, and her best friend Satomi Yugure." Corey introduced the remaining people.

"Quite a large group I see. Well, anyways, welcome to Gensokyo." She said with a cheery smile.

"Is there, perhaps, a place we can stay for tonight?" Melody asked with such proper manners that we can earn a five-star hotel just from her talking.

"For such a large group? It'll be a bit of a squeeze but I believe that there's a few apartments up for grabs not far into town. I'll show you the way." Keine started walking into the depths of town. We were still in the spotlight, part of that being thanks to Corey who still refused to put his weaponry up.

"Corey, you need to relax, we're in a safer place right now, put the guns up." Rena wanted to hold his hand but sadly the guns took over his hands. Corey looked around, grumbled, then had his mini-guns fold back into his body.

"First bastard to lay a hand on any of us, dies." Corey set the rules in a whispered tone so not to disturb anyone.

"If you don't mind me asking, where exactly is this place?" May asked, looking around at all the old style Japanese buildings. I believe, from what Satomi's informed me, these are called Feudal era buildings, or something like that.

"Gensokyo's a land hidden by a special barrier, reserved for youkai and humans alike. I'll tell you what, tomorrow I'll show you the way to the shrine so our beloved shrine maiden can explain everything to you." Keine kindly informed, "But for now, here are your apartments for the night. Please do enjoy, and I hope you all have a nice night." Keine bid us farewell in a manner almost as polite as Melody.

"She's very kind. I'm glad we met her." said Stella. We all had no luggage at all, just the clothes on our backs. Our apartments were a little dusty but it'll be fine for now. There were some futons in each room and there were four rooms in total, more than enough for our convoy.

"Alright everyone, meet in my room." I said down the hallway. I needed to clear up some stuff. We've got to divide and conquer our...unique living conditions. This place has NO heating, NO running water, NO food, if we don't hop to it, we're royally screwed. Everyone's gathered in my tiny room, kinda squeezed in but good.

"We're going to really need to work hard to establish basic living needs here, we're minus alot of luxuries we take for granted back on our turf. So instead of all of us going to the shrine tomorrow, it'll be Corey and I going. Now, for stuff here, we need somebody to wash the clothes. There's alot of clothes washing to do, so who's up for it?" I asked looking around.

"I can do it!", "I can help!" May and Stella said.

"Alright there's that. Now for food. For food, we're going to need to spend some yen that we had transferred when we got here," I took a sigh of relief, knowing we actually have some money here, "Who wants to go grocery shopping?"

"Rena and I can take care of that." said Aurora coldly.

"Good, now we're going to need to do research about how the hell we're getting home."

"I'll handle it.", "Sounds fun." Annette and Grace took that job.

"Alrighty, and last but not least, cleaning. This place is infested with dust and science knows what else. Any takers for clean-up duty?"

"Well, Satomi, it looks like we get cleaning." Melody smiled to the purple-haired daydreamer.

"Shouldn't be hard." Satomi smiled back.

"Alright, that's all everyone. Dismissed!" I sent everyone to their rooms save for May who's going to sleep with me in this room. Not on the same bed! Different bed, same room.

"Alright, night May, love you."

"Love you too."

The candles around us were blown out and we were quickly asleep...


	3. Chapter 3: Shrine Time

Chapter 3: Shrine Time

I woke up to the sight of blinding light and Corey peering into the room.

"Come on man, we've gotta get going, Keine's waiting on us." Corey motioned for me to come. I eased out of bed, still wearing my hoodie for some odd reason. It's hot as hell right now, no way am I wearing this thing around. I peeled off my hoodie and followed Corey outside. Keine waited with a peaceful smile.

"Good morning, sorry about the wait." I apologized, feeling refreshed from the open air hitting my skin but I wasn't too happy about the sun damn near blinding me.

"Good morning, Will, Corey. I'm sorry to say but I won't be joining you on the way to the shrine. I forgot that I have classes to teach today, again I'm sorry. But I did manage to get you someone to show you where to go..." Keine held her hand out to show a tiny little girl with cute horns on her head.

"Hi, I'm Suika!" The little doll-sized girl greeted.

"Nice to meet you. Now, Corey, let's fly."

"On it." Corey sprouted his steel wings, shining brightly in the sun.

"Where do we go first?" I asked, getting directions ahead of time."

"Go down the road leading east right out of the city border. Then make a right first chance you get, then a left." Suika informed, floating around the air like a little bubble.

I grappled onto Corey's shoulders and Suika sat atop my shoulder, wedging herself into a safe spot. Corey took off like a jet, speeding so fast down the road that we actually missed the intersection where we turned right. Corey made a wide turn to get us back on track, making me slide off a little. Going this speed, I sure as hell don't wanna let go! Corey managed to turn a little better this time, going left as directed. We were flying at least around 180, maybe 200 mph. I saw the shrine up ahead and Corey wasn't slowing down.

"Corey, hit the brakes..."

No response.

"Hit the brakes! Hit the damn brakes you moron!" I shouted. He went to a dead stop and I went flying into the stairs leading into the shrine. Corey landed just fine but I got a face full of wooden staircase.

"Make it here fine?" the shrine maiden asked, looking down to me.

"Would've been great if speed freak here would've actually used his brake right." I commented, no, grumbled. I was amazed she heard me, cause I heard her giggling.

"Sorry to intrude, but we were told to come here for training."

"Well you are intruding, but since you're newcomers apparently, that's an exception." She explained, helping me up. I stood next to Corey and said, "Sorry for the rude drop in, I'm Will Venitus and this is Corey Sairif." I introduced us properly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm the shrine maiden here, Reimu Hakurei" She smiled and nodded to us.

"Reimu, you gotta see this!" A distant voice shouted. A girl in a witch's outfit come rocketing in with a piece of paper in her hand. She stopped dead in front of her, panting for some reason.

"What happened? Did you finally get caught robbing the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Reimu asked. I couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was serious, her facial expression didn't change enough for me to tell.

The witch gave her a puzzled look and said, "I got busted for that a long time ago, no big news for me, but check this out. First thing in a while that Aya's put out that's actually true! Saw it for myself!" She practically shoved the newspaper in Reimu's face.

"Party at Scarlet Devil Mansion crashed by nine powerful newcomers!" The title read. Reimu looked at the picture plastered on it, then looked down to us, then back to the paper and back to us.

"YUKARIIIII!" She screamed to the high heavens.

Suddenly half a women come appearing out of a freakin' black hole!

"You called?" She asked calmly asked.

"What's the meaning of this? Did you pick them up from the outside?" She tried to keep a hushed conversation but her rage kept her voice at a loud whisper.

"So what if I did?" Yukari, I guess that was her name, answered with a sly smile and yawn.

"You just royally aggravated the second meanest vampire in Gensokyo with this little stunt, what the hell were you thinking?" She asked menacingly.

"It's kinda fun to watch her scream at somebody else. Not as fun when you're in Yukari's position." The witch commented.

"That's her name?" I asked.

"Yup."

"So she's the one that dropped us here?" Corey asked.

"Seems that way. I'll tell you, you guys really pissed off Remilia, I haven't ever seen her that mad before. Oh, I'm Marisa, by the way." Marisa greeted.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Corey and that's Will." Corey introduced us.

"Well, it seems that a certain annoying youkai doesn't want to take anyone back to the outside world so it looks like you'll need training to get used to here. Please, come inside." Reimu tried her best to calm down and keep a steady focus.

"Shall I make you some tea, shrine maiden?" I asked politely. She gave me a halfway stunned look then said, "Uh, sure. Thanks, and just call me Reimu, no need for formalities."

Sometimes it pays to be a suck-up, that and I wanted this trip to go as smoothly as possible, the sooner we sort this place out, the sooner we can adapt to it. Lucky for me, my mother showed me how to make home-brewed Japanese tea. I wish she had peaches though. I always sweetened my tea with peaches. Now to just listen in on the conversation in the room next to me while I make the tea.

"You two seem rather calm for outsiders. Most outsiders can't even form comprehensible words when they first come here." Reimu noted with a slowly calming expression.

"Oh this place is puppies and sunshine compared to some of the freaky places we've been to. You'd never believe some of the crazy places Will and I've been at." said Corey.

"Really? Like where?" Marisa asked, curious.

"The Dementia Void, Sea of Frozen Tides, Heartbeat City, Laboratory of Dreams, Tower of Noise..." Corey began listing his favorite adventure places.

"Don't forget about the Bloodbound Mansion of the Eclipse." I noted from the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, I still have nightmares bout that place. No place for the faint of mind, surprised I'm not mentally insane thanks to that mess."

"You were born insane in case you forgot." I mouthed.

"Yeah, bite me." He shot back.

Reimu giggled then asked, "So do you remember anything about coming here?"

"Went to a shrine looking for a dimensional bleed, got a bead on a moving target, found a shadow figure, fell into a black chasm and then woke up in that mansion or whatever." Corey summarized bluntly. I finished Reimu's tea and gave it to her. She smiled and thanked me, already seeming to be calmed down. I'm glad that my sucking-up worked.

"So what can you tell us about combat here. Corey here's been firing these little blue and green orbs and neither of us have the slightest clue as to what they are." I asked, picking occasional splinters out of my cheeks and some out of my clothes.

"That's danmaku, the way of fighting around here. It's really simple, kinda like a game. You shoot streams of those orbs at each other, first one to get hit loses. It's a real crush or be crushed competition. It's used alot to solve decisions and fight battles." Marisa summarized the main points of the game. It seemed more like a sport than a battle style but whatever.

"Seems kinda like a kids game or something, no offense." Corey said the wrong thing at the wrong time. Marisa conjured just one of the balls and slammed it into Corey, knocking the breath out of him.

"Sonuva...wow, that hurts like somethin' fierce, holy mother of..." And the rest of his complaining I had muted using my sound powers to avoid any accidental swearing in the shrine.

"Now, we fought this one kid out in the forest and used some kind of big barrage of bullets called Lamp Sign or something like that, but that looked so much more complex." I tried to recall everything I could about the strange barrage. It was so hard to remember, all I can really remember is running for my life from the dogs.

"Wriggle Nightbug. Yup, figures she'd be going to the party too..." Marisa solved the problem of naming the strange bug girl.

"She used what's called a Sign Card. It's like a special setup for bigger and fancier bullet barrages. You can have them customized to suit your fighting style. You two might be different though." Reimu educated.

"Why different?" I asked, confused.

"Your spiritual energy has your power in it, but it's not the origin of your powers..." Reimu started to think to herself, confused. Corey, finally unmuted, said, "It's all in the genes, nothing spiritual about it."

"What he means is that we get our powers from scientific modification of our genetic structure. As far as spiritual goes, I ain't got any idea how that works." I clarified while tuning my guitar. Once I was done, I let it vanish into thin air again, amusing Marisa. I'm guessing since she's a witch, she knows alot about magic, but of course, it's never good to stereotype.

"I see." Reimu seemed uninterested but interested at the same time. She didn't really care about the origin, she just seemed to be looking for a way to work around our unique 'spiritual energy' or whatever it is.

"So what do we need to make one of these cards?" Corey asked, still regaining his breath. Marisa giggled seeing him in pain, but I don't blame her. I'd probably giggle too.

"We'll set that up later. First I need a demonstration of your abilities. Marisa will be your target, I just want to see what you're capable of." Reimu led us outside to the couryard where we could fight.

"I don't want either of you to hold back, use all of your power in one go." Reimu instructed.

"Come on, give me all you got!" Marisa flew around on her broomstick.

"Wait one second...where's Suika?" I accidentally asked aloud.

"Likely drunk in town right now." Reimu guessed. I shrugged and volunteered Corey to go first.

"You really want me to go all out? You're sure? This might be a little too much for you." Corey warned Marisa.

"Bring it! Let's see what you can do, weakling!" She was asking for it alright. Corey took flight and split himself in two, making two flying steel soldiers ready to fire. Both of them had their mini-guns primed and their mortar cannons on their backs ready. Corey put on a good show for Marisa, keeping her busy enough flying around to get her to fire back.

"That's what we want, keep it coming!" Marisa encouraged him, or rather, them. They started synchronized attacks, one firing a volley of missiles and one firing mini-gun rounds while peppering the sky with mortar fire.

"He's a real warhound." said Reimu. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I heard a bit of astonishment in her voice.

"He's one of a kind, a unique brand of elemental warrior with the power over machinery. In our world he's called a Warforger." I informed her just as she informed me about danmaku. Seems like a fair trade. Finally after minutes of fighting, Reimu decided that she had seen all she needed to. Both Corey's melded back together and he retracted his weapons.

"Not bad at all!" Marisa applauded. Corey took a friendly bow and sat down next to Reimu.

"You feeling okay?" I asked Corey.

"I feel freakin' fantastic! I don't think these attacks take from my blood supply, so I can fire all I want." Corey was pumped and primed now, I was scared to think of what he could do with this much power. Reimu wore a puzzled look, so I had Corey explain the Warforger gene while I gave my exhibition. I conjured my guitar and Heaven Shaker, ready to rock.

"Ready when you are!" Marisa cheerily flew around.

"Let's rock then!" I gave a thunderous chord that shook the earth and made turbulence for my flying target. Unlike Corey, I don't have wings or really any way of air travel so I have to use long-range attacks. I'll hand it to Marisa, she's agile, alot more agile than what I would've expected. My attacks would barely even near her, my sonic waves only filling the air around her. I'd make a few riffs that would keep her weaving but she'd be out of harms way in just a few seconds. Everytime I fired a chord, it'd launch a random spread of sonic bullets and my riffs spread strange patterns about. It was strange but I think I could get used to this. Marisa thought she was being clever by zooming behind me.

"Come on, you can do better!" She'd tease me. I let loose the fury of the Heaven Shaker and it made her have to close her ears. She also wasn't paying attention to how close she was to the ground, leaving herself open to my more direct attacks.

"Long story short, I get bullets from blood, simple as that." Corey finished explaining his gene to Reimu who just gave an uninterested grunt. Corey shrugged, watching my display of power with her.

"Get ready!" I shouted, letting out a massive riff that made geysers of bullets spike from the ground. Marisa, still a little shaken from my sonic assault, decided she had enough and began firing back. Unlike Corey, I didn't quite have agility on my side, so I took quite a few shots.

"Alright, I give, you win!" I let her know that I was done taking the blows. Those damn things hurt! I really did NOT think they'd hurt like that, I can hardly breathe right now.

"Hmm, needs work on dodging." Marisa noted, making sure I heard.

"Well, that's all for today." said Reimu.

"Weren't we going to go over the spell cards?" Corey asked, confused.

"We'll do that tomorrow." Reimu dismissed. I shrugged and Corey readied for departure.

"Thank you so much for all the help, shrine maiden, it's much appreciated. Til tomorrow, farewell for now." I gave a subtle bow.

"No need for formalities, just call me Reimu. And your welcome, see you later." Reimu bid farewell and walked back into the shrine.

"Hey, Corey, wanna race?" Marisa asked, boarding her broom.

"You're on. Let's go!" Corey jet off with me barely hanging on. He had to be hitting super-sonic speeds but somehow Marisa was right beside us. Corey's turns were harder than ever now, giving Marisa the lead. I couldn't even keep my eyes open at this speed. Once we were in town, Corey managed to slow down properly and land.

"I'll win tomorrow!" Corey shouted to the still airbourne Marisa.

"We'll see about that! See you tomorrow then." She replied, shooting off to the shrine again.

"Well, that was...interesting." said Corey, retracting his wings.

"They're interesting characters, but they seem nice."

"Though the shrine maiden seemed quiet."

"She's likely got alot on her mind. She's got to tend to not only us, but her shrine as well and peform her maiden duties." I finished, entering the apartment complex.

"Will!" Luna shouted, hugging onto me.

"Hi sis, how's everything going?" I asked. She led me to the 'kitchen' we had set up in Rena and Satomi's room. Rena and May were already working on cooking while Melody and Satomi cleaned up the dust and such from the rooms.

"We've got so much done today! Aurora and Rena even got things to cook with and everything. But I don't know where Annette and Grace are, they haven't come back yet." Luna replied, watching the others cook.

"Oh boy. Well, it looks like I'm going on a hunting mission. I'll be back soon enough." I bid a quick farewell, giving May a quick kiss on the cheek and running off into the depths of the village. I tried to straighten up my mop of brown hair that's grown quite a ways, hitting my neck already. I wonder if there's a hair stylist anywhere around here?

There sure is alot of strange youkai here, many of which I don't dare approach or talk to. Thanks to that damn bird-brain spreading crap about my group and I, I think we're close to being pariahs already. I could see some of them giving me dirty looks but I didn't care, I didn't need their approval, I have sisters I need to find. I looked towards the market place first, so many different stores, I'd need to wander around here to make sure they weren't hiding somewhere in a store. I know Annette and Grace well, they're damn good at blending into a crowd, even though Annette always wears white and Grace never goes anywhere without her brown leather half-jacket. I walked around for a while, in and out of stores, having no luck until I met with a familiar face in the florists shop.

"Hello, Will, how did the training go?" Keine asked.

"It was good, though Reimu's a little cryptic sometimes, I can't quite make out what to say or do around her." I replied with a half-smile.

"She can be a little hard to understand sometimes, but she's great at what she does, so no need to worry. Again, I apologize for not being able to take you there myself."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Hey, I don't suppose you've seen my sisters around here somewhere? Annette and Grace?" I asked, looking outside for a second to make sure they aren't wandering around.

"The one in white and the other one with the strange jacket?" She asked, looking back on her memory.

"Yup, that's them."

"They were in the weapons shop last I seen."

"Thank you so much, I really cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the help." I felt embarrassed to have to ask help from her all the time. I hate being too in debt to someone, but somehow I feel safe having a debt owed to her.

"It's really no problem. Well, I shall be off for now, it was great seeing you again. Take care." Keine bid farewell, walking to the door with me.

"You too, see you soon," I departed from her, "Now, let's see...there's the weapon store..."

The store had some damn fine looking blades. Alot of these looked well made too. My eyes made contact with a certain maid walking out of the store. She saw me, I knew she did. I was so tempted to pull her over and apologize for making a mess out of the party last night. But a part of me also had a gut feeling that if I said even one word to her she'd have a knife lodged in my throat before I knew it. Then, just like that, she was gone. I felt a certain tension decrease, but another tension rise. I'm going to set things straight soon hopefully, I at least want to make my peace with the residents before I ever depart from here. In the back I did indeed see my lost sisters. I approached silently and quickly while their backs were turned.

"Whaddya think you two are doin?" I asked loudly, scaring the both of them. I hadn't thought through my whole plan though, cause Annette swung a frightened punch right at the side of my neck.

"Owww..." I moaned. I forgot that she swings when she gets scared.

"Aww, dammit Will, what have I told you about scaring me?" Annette preached, even though she was guilty of doing the same thing many of times before.

"It's alright, I'm just glad you two are doing okay. Find any leads?" I asked, holding the wide bruise on my neck. For a girl, she's got ALOT of strength.

"Not much, but we do know all the stores around here and some of the residents." Grace informed, following me back outside to the market square.

"Interesting. Well, after training at the temple, I happened to figure out who brought us here. Her name's Yukari and she's our ticket out."

"Yukari? Well looks like our jobs are done." Grace wanted an excuse to lounge about, but she should know by now that as long as one of us is busy, we're all kept busy.

"Not quite."

"Excuse me?" Annette asked with a raised brow.

"Once Corey and I finish our training, you two are up next. We need an income, and if that income requires fighting you're gonna have to be prepared." I instructed, opening the door to the apartment. Again, Luna greeted me with a cheerful hug then returned to help set up dinner.

"If you're gonna have me fight, you're gonna buy me a bigger weapon, cause I am NOT using this puny knife for combat." Grace complained, eyeing her small survival knife. Good for cutting down limbs and such, not good for combat.

"Heh, maybe you can have that crazy maid show you how to throw it." Annette joked. Again, my mind was brought back to the maid. Was she really personally mad at me, or was she just mad because her master was?

"Will, you alright? I hit you kinda hard, sorry 'bout that." Annette took a look at the bruise, already trying to turn purple.

"I'm fine, I kinda brought it on myself."

"Probably knocked some sense into him and his brains trying to get used to having it." Corey wisecracked, probably from the insane joke I made back at the shrine. Well played metal man, well played. Luna helped sort out the food, and Melody offered to do the dishes along with May. We ate, happily having conversations and catching up on the latest stuff that goes around. Apparently that bird-brain tried getting in while Corey and I were gone, wanting interviews. May shooed her away luckily, which made me proud of her cause she isn't one to say 'no' very often. As it was turning night, I prepared for bed when I heard a strange sound. Knocking on the front door. I got up, being the only one that wasn't already in bed officially, and went to the door. I opened it up and saw a winged girl with a camera waiting for me.

"Hi, I'm Aya, I'm with the Bunbunmaru newspaper. I was wondering if you were up for interviews." The bird girl greeted.

"You're the one that basically turned us into pariahs thanks to your newspaper. You really think I'm going to give you an interview?" I shot back, shutting the door behind me.

"I only give the honest truth." She replied in defense.

"Yeah, we REALLY crashed a party and knew exactly what we were doing when we crashed it. You should get the real truth instead of biased information you don't even have." I lectured but I really doubt if she was listening. Knowing this bird-brain, she's been lectured this hundreds of times.

"Then would you care to give me the truth then? I'm sure that with the right truth out, people would warm up afterwards." She offered. Damn, she's a crafty one...

"You get one more shot, screw this up and you're tomorrow's dinner." I threatened. Last thing I need is for her to screw anything else up. I don't wanna be chased out of here and back into those damned woods.

"Alright, so first question: What do you think of Gensokyo so far?" She had a notebook and a pencil in her hand, looking at me eagerly.

"It's nice here, not as updated as the outside world, but it's easy-going here and the residents seem nice."

"They can be pretty easy to work with. Next question: How were you able to traverse the woods at night without knowing about danmaku?"

"We didn't know what we were doing, but we were combat ready. Whatever works, works, was our situation. We know how to fight, and we would fight for survival."

"Interesting, basic survival instinct. Alright, next question. What can you tell me about your comrads?"

Comrads? More like relatives and friends.

"We're very close knit, no secrets in our family. By the way, you only get two more questions then I'm going to bed." I said with droopy eyes and my nerves worn.

"Okay, so where do you get your powers from? From what I saw, you have alot of power for a newcomer." She asked, scribbling down words on her notepad.

"I'm genetically enhanced. On the outside world, I'm an Echocrafter, a master of sound. All of my friends and relatives have these elemental powers save for Satomi and Grace." I was starting to get antsy to get to bed. I just really hope she isn't twisting my words on that little notepad of hers.

"Okay, for the last question, can you show me some of your powers?" She asked with an even more eager face. I hope she isn't writing a combat report, cause I don't want her listing who should and shouldn't screw with me.

"That's more of a request than a question."

"I just need a little more on here to make a full article. Please?" She tried to give me pitiful eyes. Dammit, why do I have to be such a sucker for girls...

"Alright, alright...but is it really safe to be doing this in town? You better not be getting me in trouble!"

"It's fine, if anyone asks, it's for me." She stood to the side of a building and kept everyone away from the 'display'. I summoned my guitar and played a few simple riffs that made those danmaku geysers that spike up from the ground.

"There, happy?"

"Yes, thank you very much, I'll do my best on the article!" She thanked, jetting off and leaving behind a rough gust of wind.

"Good riddance...I wanna sleep dammit." I mumbled to myself, heading back inside and to my bed where May was waiting on me with a warm smile.

"You didn't have to wait for me silly. Come on, let's get some sleep." I blew out the candles and drifted to sleep. I could tell May was tired, she passed right out without saying goodnight.

Halfway through the night I was awaken by a shriek. Followed by another shriek. I ran into the room I heard the screams from, finding Luna and Satomi frightened in the corner. I also saw another person wearing a blue maid outfit and a wide-brim hat with a red ribbon on it. At first I mistook it for that crazy maid from the mansion but she was too young and had blonde hair instead of blue.

"Whoa, where's your legs?" I asked the maid.

"I'm a poltergeist. Can't you tell?" She turned, or rather floated, around to face me.

"I see. And why are you here?"

"This is my home, I should be asking you that question." said the poltergeist. The other girls and Corey were woken up but they were all sent back to bed while I solve this issue.

"Your home? Keine gave us this home..." Satomi piped up.

"Keine? Oh, that explains it. Let me introduce myself, I'm Kana Anaberal."

"I'm Will, I'll let you meet the others later. Wait...why weren't you here last night?" I remember a peaceful night last night.

"I was at the party. Now that I recall, aren't you the ones that crashed that party?" Kana asked.

"Geez, bird-brain even influences the dead...well anyways, I'm going back to bed, sorry for intruding on your home, we'll deal with all this in the morning." I walked back to my bed and went back to sleep.

"I take it he doesn't like being woke up early." Kana tried holding a conversation but both Luna and Satomi were already asleep.

"Good night then." Kana vanished into thin air.

Well, that wraps up chapter 3. Did I capture the personalities well? If not, let me know how I can improve, I'm still a noob at this. Oh, and I'm going to post up a little info about Will and the other newcomers on my profile in case you wanna know a little more.


	4. Chapter 4: Check Your Signs

Chapter 4: Check your signs.

"Why are you looming over me?" I asked Kana, who was drifting right above my face.

"I was asked to wake you up." She quietly replied.

"Ah, I see. Thank you."

"Consider it my initiation to becoming your house maid."

Her words made me shoot right up out of bed.

"House maid? Dead people can be house maids?" I asked, confused about the matter.

"Technically I'm not a ghost. I'm a poltergeist." She replied. I could sense a hidden aggravation.

"Aurora!" I shouted, in dire need of an explanation. I knew that it would be hard on our...um...guest, better Aurora to explain. She entered the room, holograms and blonde hair following her.

"What's the difference between a ghost and a poltergeist?"

"Poltergeists are constructs crafted from mentally unstable, extraordinarily powerful, or extremely bored minds. They have limited audible and visual contact with the physical realm and though are known for only causing chaos, some can be befriended. Whereas a ghost would either live for a malevolent purpose or for earthly needs, a poltergeist exists merely because it was made to." Aurora gave a cryptic answer, but for once I actually understood.

"Okay, thanks, I think I've got this sorted out now."

"No problem, Will, let me know if you need more help," She walked out of the room then I could hear her say, "Science knows you need more help than most..."

"Yo, Will, let's move, Reimu might get pissed if we keep her waiting." Corey shouted into my room.

"Thank you for your service. If you need anything let May know. Oh, May's the one with the almond colored hair and wears the pink tank-top." I informed the poltergeist, leaving the apartment a little faster than last time. I boarded my vessel and we zoomed off for the shrine. I've been kinda excited to try out this spell card business. I don't see why I need it though, I've got so much power of my own, but I suppose in here, 'so much power' can mean 'very little power'.

"Think you can find the brakes today?" I shouted over the whipping winds that kept my eyes shut the whole trip.

"I can try!" He shouted back. Boy what comfort I feel riding with him...

He managed to pull to a stop properly today, almost made me proud of him. Suika waited outside with this little gourd in her hand.

"Mornin' Suika. Is Reimu here?" I asked, trying to peek into the shrines thin paper doors.

"Yup, I'll go get her." Suika got up with a wobble and from where I was standing, I could smell the alchohol radiating off of her. Might be a health hazard just to get near. She opened the door after spending a minute remembering how, revealing a tea-sipping Reimu at her little table.

"Oh, hello. Come in." Reimu greeted. Corey and I took our seats on the comfy rug floor.

"Marisa's not here?" I asked looking around.

"Not yet, she will be soon enough though." Reimu replied, finishing her tea and putting up the cup she used.

"Are we still going to learn about the spell cards today?" Corey impatiently asked.

"Yes. Suika, please get me my blank cards." Reimu ordered. Still wobbly, Suika walked further into the shrine.

"Oh, if I may, would you be able to teach two of my sisters of danmaku?" I asked politely. I think she's highly responsive to polite speech, as compared to a certain blunt brute sitting next to me.

"Perhaps."

Suika returned with these little pieces of paper, then started drinking something from a gourd. It was strong, I'm thinking it was alchohol but I didn't care to find out.

"Reimu, I'm coming in!" Marisa shouted from outside, carrying her broom in with her. Judging by Reimu's subtle reaction, I doubt she cared about any 'intruders'.

"Good morning Marisa. You're just in time to watch us make our first spell cards." I greeted her with a friendly smile. She smiled back and said, "Sweet, let me get my grimoir ready."

I looked at the paper closely, wondering what kind of power is in it.

"Man, it's hot..." Suika sighed, taking another long drink.

"It has been really hot lately, too hot for autumn to be coming..." Reimu drifted off, looking outside. Indeed it was already going on August but it was immensely hot like it was the dead of June.

Marisa was ready now to write down whatever it is she writes in her grimoir.

"To make a spell card, you need to focus on what you want it to do. Hold it your hands like so," Reimu showed us how she had both palms of her hands touching but with the fingers facing her wrists, "Then it'll do the rest. Give it a few seconds and then hand it to me."

I had three of them facing me and Corey had three facing him. I chuckled and said, "I don't even know what to have them do..."

"It's alright, take your time." said Reimu. Suika, again, took a long drink of her alcohol then fell asleep on the floor.

Meanwhile, at the Market Square...

"The food here smells good..." Melody commented as she walked with Rena in a ramen resturaunt.

"Yup, that's 100% quality ramen there. Wanna try some?" Rena asked, wearing her kimono still. The clothes store was their next stop.

"Won't that cut into our budget?" Melody asked.

"Nah, we have plenty! Remember, Corey came here with a full wallet from his savings, we'll be good for months. Come on, my treat!" Rena grabbed Melody's hand and ran off to a barstool where they ordered two bowls of shio ramen. Melody, at first confused as to how to eat, just aimed for the noodles first.

"Rena, sorry to bother you, but do I eat the other stuff too?" Melody whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear. The two finished their meals and took a minute at the bar to settle. Everyone inside suddenly gave a look outside, then rushed out, leaving the place somewhat deserted.

"What's all the fuss about?" asked a confused Rena. The two walked outside to see a trio of musical performers dishing out melodious songs. Melody was most content listening to their songs. They just played out on the middle of the square.

"I've never seen anything like this before..." Rena let out an calm sigh, feeling relaxed hearing the symphony. Melody began trying to copy the pianist's melodies, quickly matching her skills. Melody hoped that she could remember the song to play when she got home. Being an Echocrafter, she also has an instument for her use, but unlike Will, she has a keyboard. After a few minutes of listening, Rena and Melody moved on to the dress shop, hoping to find something a little more comfortable.

"Good afternoon." The owner greeted, waiting behind the counter. She had a bright green dress on and wore a strange hat that covered her long green hair. Rena and Melody politely greeted the owner, but nearly ran when she revealed a pair of bat-like wings. Melody didn't want to offend her and Rena simply didn't want to know out of fear. She picked out a pink frilled T-shirt like garment and simple jeans so she could move around easier.

"Will that be all?" The owner asked.

"Y-yeah." Rena was still trying to get past the bat wings. Melody and Rena tried to avoid making any eye contact with the devil-lady.

"What's wrong, not used to seeing vampires?" The owner asked, taking a closer look at her customers.

"Wait, you're the newcomers I've been hearing about! No wonder, and here I am with my wings and all out. Sorry 'bout that." She apologized. Melody secretely let out a sigh of released tension.

"Before you ask, no we didn't intentionally crash that party. We just dropped in the courtyard out of nowhere." Rena made sure to clear up that confusion.

"Say no more, I understand perfectly. I knew better than to completely trust one of Aya's articles. By the way, my name's Yami Odayakana." said Yami.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Odayakana. My name is Melody Venitus and she is Rena Yugure." Melody greeted formally, or rather, as formally as she knew how to. She didn't know the special names the Japanese used for formal addressment.

"Please, just call me Yami." The vampire was rather polite and kind for someone with such a vicious nature. Rena was on her guard, even though she knew that no youkai would likely try anything here in the city.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are those people playing out there in the square?" Melody asked.

"That's the Prismriver Ensemble. They're a group of poltergeists that are known for their soul-moving performances." Yami educated them. Rena had already payed for the clothes, but they found themselves their first friend and they wanted to make the most of the meeting while they could.

"Poltergeist, don't we have one of those at the apartments, Rena?" Melody asked.

"You live with a poltergeist? It's very rare that...wait, you're probably talking about Kana..." Yumi interrupted.

"Yeah, that's who stays with us." said Rena.

"She's really sweet, it's just that not alot of people want a poltergeist in their home. I'm glad she found somewhere to stay, it would break my heart to see her wandering around here without a home." Yumi said, revealing a sweeter and certainly more caring side of vampires. If it weren't for the wings and semi-noticable fangs, Rena'd probably mistake her for a normal human.

"She's been a great help to us. She's been cleaning the house, doing dishes, we feel bad because we can't quite give her anything other than a home and company." said Melody, moving her long brown hair out of the way of her face.

"Speaking of a home and company, we should probably be getting back before the others start to worry. It was wonderful getting to meet you Yumi, take care!" Rena ran off, dragging Melody with her by the hand.

"It was nice meeting you too!" Yumi waved goodbye. Melody and Rena were rushing off to home when they ran past that certain maid that threatened them at the mansion. Melody, thinking just like her brother, was tempted to hold up to apologize, but Rena was moving too fast and Melody didn't want to get left behind.

Meanwhile, back at the shrine...

It's been about fifteen minutes, Marisa's been complaining to hurry up and I still have only a faint idea of what to make.

"You got any ideas?" I asked Corey who was making strange faces every so often.

"Not really..."

"Neither do I..."

"Come on! Seriously guys, it's not hard." Marisa screamed. Scream...got it! I took the paper, stuck it between my palms and did exactly what Reimu told me to. I could feel a weird sensation running through my palms. At the same time, I could hear a marvelous symphony in my head, like the card was tuning itself to my specific power. Once the feeling faded, I laid the card on the table, feeling somewhat proud. I was weirded out that it had suddenly obtained Japanese lettering on it. Reimu returned from making tea and noticed I had finished one of my cards. She snatched it from the table and took a look at it.

"Not bad, now it needs a name." Reimu said, passing it to Marisa to record in her Grimoir.

"A name? It took alot of effort just to decide what it does!"

"Try not to hurt yourself thinking." said Marisa. I stared blankly at my card sitting at Marisa's part of the table.

"Here, look through these and get an idea." Marisa handed me her book. I flipped through the pages, miraculously able to translate it thanks being an Echocrafter.

"Let's see...Earth Sign: Rage Trilithon, Great Miracle: Yasaka's Divine Wind, Subterranean Sun..." I mumbled to myself while reading.

"I don't have much, but the term Echo Warp: Wretched Sound comes to mind, I don't know if I'll..."

"Done." Reimu interrupted. Marisa was already writing down the name that I was still iffy on.

"Well...guess I'll be going with that then."

"Got it..." Corey laid down a card of his own, his card having an entirely different sketching than mine. Marisa finished with my card and handed it back to me.

"We're just gonna make two for today. We'll do the last one tomorrow." said Reimu, examining Corey's card.

"Your turn to come up with a name." I said to Corey while I thought of something for my second card.

"Hmm, how about..." Corey took a moment to ponder then said, "Chaos Art: Bloodlust." He gave a wicked smile, thinking he was hot stuff now with his name.

"Oh boy, I'm scared to see what that does..." I jested with him.

"Probably more than yours does." He mouthed back. Reimu passed Corey's card to Marisa, then she recorded it in her grimoir. I had a briliant idea of what to do for my next card, the idea coming cleaner than the last. I performed the sequence needed but instead of hearing a soft symphony in my head, I could vividly hear a brutal riff from a guitar. I opened my hands and saw a very complex pattern made on the sign. I passed it to Reimu and she okayed it, only commenting that it looked like a 'keeper'. What's her definition of a bad one?

"Name it, Will." Marisa commanded.

"Echo Warp: Noisebreaker." I shot off quickly. This is getting much easier for some reason. I kinda can't wait for tomorrow so I can make my last one!

"Corey, your up. Make it good!" I gave him a brief smile then relaxed on the porch to soak up a little sunlight. I could still smell the thick scent of alcohol radiating from Suika while I waited for Corey to finish. Once he was done, he came by the porch to sit next to me, occasionally poking Suika to make sure she was still alive. I'll say this, she's a still sleeper.

"Alright, now to test them out! Get ready you two!" Marisa shouted with energy. She seemed to love being a target for some reason.

"I went last time, you go Will." Corey motioned for me to go. I retrieved my cards from Reimu but before she let me fight, she went briefly over how to use these cards. Basically I get to shout the name of my card and channel the energy to my target. I stood opposite of a low-to-the-ground flying Marisa.

"Ready when you are." Marisa signalled. I held my card, feeling kinda stupid for even thinking about doing this.

"Echo Warp: Wretched Sound!" I let out a sonic roar that left an utterly ear-ravaging sound followed by a cone-shaped storm of bullets from my roar's wake. I could feel an absolutely immense power flowing in me. I started to laugh from just letting out that sort of power. Marisa was barely able to work past the sounds to escape my barrage.

"That was awesome!" I shouted in glee.

"What?" Marisa shouted, clearly still deaf. I gave her some time to recover before testing my second card.

"You're sure your ready this time?" I asked, holding my second card in hand.

"Bring it!" Marisa shouted, ready for the worst.

"Echo Warp: Noisebreaker!" I slammed down on my suddenly appearing guitar, letting out an enormous chord that made a hall of bullets rise and form a tunnel of bullets that pinned Marisa in. I could see the more urgent look on her face now that she was trapped. I started playing a massive solo on the guitar, making bullet geysers spike from the ground according to where I hit a note on my guitar. Marisa dipped and dodged the quickly appearing geysers, and looked kinda like a fly caught in a jar. It was interesting to watch the patterns I made, almost entrancing to myself. I finished with a final chord that finally nailed that slick witch! She looked back to me with a smile and a nod.

"Pretty good! That's the first time I've been hit in a while!" Marisa gave me a brief applaud then sent me over to Reimu so that Corey could test his cards.

"So, just how loud was that first one?" I asked Reimu.

"That was...alot louder than expected. That's a very good stun effect." She complimented in her unique way.

"Ready, warhound?"

"Hell yeah, Chaos Art: Bloodlust!" He screamed, turning his mortars that come from his back into full tank cannons. He let loose at least fifty or so shots that peppered the ground in an arrow shape, followed by three spreads of fire from his miniguns. Marisa had an easier time dodging Corey's fire. Though his cannon fire made quite a mess of Reimu's courtyard. I could already see her eyes widen. That was actually enough shaking to wake up Suika. How she didn't have a hangover beats the hell outta me, but she seemed intent on watching the show.

"Next!" Marisa shouted. Corey wasn't worn down a bit, already pulling out his next card.

"Chaos Art: Bulletrend" He disappeared in a flash, then reappeared in the air next to Marisa, firing his sniper at her like a laser, and from that laser came even more bullets that spread out, all while still firing his mini-gun spreads. He repeated this tactic eight times in rapid succession until his turn ended. He slammed to the ground and retracted his weaponry, saddened a little that he still couldn't land a hit on Marisa.

"Better luck with your third one!" Suika shouted to him.

"I'll get you yet!" Corey pointed to Marisa.

"I'll watch you try. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hunting for some beasties ze. See you all later." She shot back.

"Alright, that's good for today." Reimu returned back to her shrine to relax.

"Oh, almost forgot..." Corey reached for some extra money from his pocket and put it in the donation box Reimu had out front. Seeing that made Reimu smile, I could already tell Corey was taking after me.

"Thank you very much for the donation!" She said happily, going back to drinking her tea and snacking.

"Your welcome. Come on, Will, let's go." Corey spread his wings and motioned for me to climb aboard.

"Catch ya'll later." I waved goodbye then took a firm group on Corey's shoulders. Everyone said their goodbyes as we jetted off.

"Suck up much?" I shouted to him.

"Says the tea maker!"

"I did it cause she was pissed off, you did it to suck up!"

"Oh whatever!"

Meanwhile, back at the village...

"Keine?" Stella knocked on the door to the schoolhouse. Luna peeked around the corner and was quickly spotted by a younger kid. Keine appeared from behind the house and motioned for them to come there.

"Oh, deeply sorry, I didn't know you were having classes still." Stella apologized.

"It's fine. Kids, meet Stella and Luna. They came here recently." Keine introduced all the little ones to the two. The kids seemed fascinated by their unique looks. Stella still wore her sparkling golden dress and Luna still wore her skirt and high-heel sandals with her blue frill tank-top. The two really stood out amongst all the old-style Japanese clothing people here wore.

"Are you from the outside?"

"Where'd you get your cool clothes?"

"Can you do any magic?"

One question after another kept the girls busy. It was already getting late and the classes were nearly over so they didn't want to distract any.

"So what is it you needed?" Keine asked.

"We were wondering if there was anywhere to fish at. Corey and Will are great at fishing, and it would be a good source of food." Luna explained.

"Oh, the best place for that is down by the Misty Lake, but it's a dangerous path just to let you know." said Keine. The kids still pawed on the girls, wondering about everything they can do. Stella showed them what she could as far as her powers go, from refracting light to make her appear invisible to making orbs of solid light, the kids seemed fascinated to learn about Stella's Lightbringer powers. Eventually Luna stepped in and showed them the water powers of a Hydroshifter, moving around water like it was a tangible toy. As the day slowly ended, the kids were forced to go home.

"So how are you liking it here?" Keine asked.

"It's really nice! We've got the apartments cleaned, met some of the locals, and we've even adopted a poltergeist!" Luna cheered, happy and energetic as ever.

"Adopted a...poltergeist? Ah, you're likely talking about Kana. Glad she's found a safe home. I'm sure you're not used to that kind of stuff on the outside world." Keine chuckled, thinking about the last story she heard of the outside world.

"We actually do deal with sorts of spectral activity. It's something in the dimensions that caused a spectral flux so occasionally we get ghosts. One of them happens to be my sister, Angel." Stella helped keep Keine up to date on the outside world.

"Wow, alots changed from the last stories I heard." said Keine. Luna was trying to resist the urge to play with Keine's little building hat and Stella occasionally had to settle her down.

"So if you wouldn't mind, since you're a teacher and all, would you care to educate me on the different youkai here?" Stella politely asked.

"Of course! Just follow me inside and I'll explain." Keine led them inside the official schoolhouse, giving them a seat and everything. Sunlight bathed some of the seats with light and it smelled of a strange but refreshing scent. Eventually Luna identified the smell as incense.

"As you've already seen, there's many kinds of youkai here, most of them being fairly kind to humans..."

Stella and Luna enjoyed the lesson, learning much of the inhabitant youkai of the village and of the youkai dwelling outside. No doubt what they learned today will come in handy later...

Corey and I entered the warm home, bathed well in sunlight.

"Rena, Corey's cheating on you!" I shouted in a general area. I had no idea where she was, but I know damn well that she heard me.

"Bullcrap, you lier." He shot back. Rena popped her head out from a nearby room with a distressed look.

"Corey, is this true?" Rena growled.

"Not one bit, little angel." He replied. I could hear a faint shakiness in his voice.

"Oh whatever, says the one that just randomly donates money to their shrine. Admit it, you did it cause you think the shrine maiden's cute." I teased him. We walked into the room to find Kana and May cooking food with everyone here and waiting.

"She is cute, but that money was to go towards fixing the holes I put in her yard."

"Poor choice of words, brother." said Aurora.

"You put holes in her yard?" Rena shouted, disturbing May from her cooking so she can listen to the argument.

"Hey! You're guilty too, you just randomly decide to make tea for her!" Corey pointed my way.

"I did it cause she was upset, you did what you did just cause you thought she was cute." I shot back with a sly grin.

"So not only did he put holes in her yard, he's also guilty of flirting with her. Not bad, not bad at all..." Annette gave Corey a mischivious smile.

"What the hell ever, I did that out of the kindness of my heart. Not the 'hole' part though, that was actually by accident." Corey said in his defense.

"No matter which outcome you pick, you're still screwed." Aurora noted. Rena scooted away from Corey and towards Satomi, ignoring Corey for quite some time. Every time he tried to talk to her, he'd just get a "Hmph" in return. It's too easy to screw with him...

"The foods ready, everyone." Kana finished cooking and passed out plates to everyone sitting in the tiny room.

"Are you sure you don't mind doing all this work? I feel bad..." May asked Kana.

"I don't mind at all. I'm a poltergeist, what more have I to do?" Kana made a very valid point.

Luna started having trouble eating the ramen Kana prepared and Satomi needed to show her how to properly eat with chopsticks. Meanwhile, Corey kept looking over at Kana, then back down to his food.

"Is something wrong?" Kana asked.

"You look like a certain young girl I know..." Corey looked over to his little sister.

"Surely you can't mean me." Aurora sighed.

"They DO look pretty similar! That's cute, they're like long lost siblings." Rena examined both of the girls, both of their young figures and blonde hair complimenting each other to the point of really looking like siblings. Kana gave a sweet smile to Aurora and all Aurora did was nod and go back to eating.

"Look at that, they even act like siblings..." Grace commented between slurping up her noodles. She had the whole bowl drained in seconds flat compared to the rest of us that were still eating.

"Let's move on from this conversation." said Aurora, coldly. Again she was working on her holograms, somehow still managing to conjure up something despite the lack of internet that she thrives on. I suppose extra work is her way to cope. Luna and Stella then started talking about the fishing spot Keine told them about. I really wanna get back to fishing again, it was alot of fun last we did it and it's a great source of food. Maybe Rena and Satomi could show us how to make sushi...

After a long silence of eating, Corey took a very good and long look at Kana and Aurora, then said "I still say you two could easily be related."

"For the love of science, will you shut up?" Aurora threatened. Everyone, save for Kana and the ones who were still eating laughed. Speaking of eating the food was very well made, for a poltergeist, her maid services were top notch.

"Hey, Kana, do you know the Prismriver Ensemble?" asked Melody.

"Yes, I've been to many of their performances and I know the youngest one, Lyrica, personally." Kana replied, already onto washing the dishes. May simply refused to let her work alone and helped her.

"As long as it's not too much of a problem, do you think you could see if the pianist could give me some lessons?" Melody tried to remember how to play the song she heard before, tapping her fingers on the small table we ate from.

"Of course, I can see about visiting them tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, sorry if it's a bother."

"It's nothing." Kana gave her the same sweet smile she gave Aurora earlier.

"Why take lessons? You seem to know the song by heart already." Annette commented, taking her bowl of ramen away from the table so it's not shaken by Melody's performance on the table.

"Oh, sorry sister. It's just such an entrancing melody..." She played the song in her head now, but without the table tapping.

"Well, whaddya waiting for, play it on your keyboard!" said Rena. Melody summoned her keyboard and replayed the song flawlessly. Of course, being as modest as she is, she denied being able to do it as well as the Ensemble did. Kana even agreed that her performance was top-notch.

"I just wish I could figure out how to make those unique sounds. They sound so nice..." Melody drifted off, mystified. I relaxed against the wall, watching Stella's light orbs keep the area lit up so well. I could tell she was getting tired now, yawning often.

"Well, it's been a long day, so let's all get some rest." I directed everyone to their rooms, seeing that Kana and May were done with dishes. I met my lover back in the room. She seemed really sleepy, so I gave her just a quick kiss good night and plopped on my futon, out in seconds. Let's hope tonight I wont be awoken by a head hovering above me...


	5. Chapter 5: Summer's Mercy

Hello everyone, this is CFW Gamereaper with another update to the Wings of Certain Shift. So far I haven't had one review, which is a little depressing, but I'll keep going with it just for fun, even if nobody likes it. I think I've been capturing the personalities well, but I'm not too sure yet so I can only hope it's not too horrible for mortal eyes lol. Well, at any rate, enjoy!

**Chapter 5: Summer's Mercy**

"This is illogical! Such a disastrous outcome..." I could hear the distant cries of a girl. I eased out of bed and walked towards the kitchen, where Aurora sat at the table with her head buried in her arms.

"Aurora, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting next to her.

"My satellite couldn't get ANY information on this place, it's map came back glitched and unreadable and now my satellite's trapped in orbit, malfunctioning..." Aurora despaired. Luckily she wasn't crying...yet...but at any rate I still felt bad for her. She gets pretty heartbroken when her technology fails.

"Hey, don't worry so much about it, we'll be fine without a map. Do you need a hug?" I asked, draping an arm over her shoulder.

"...yes..." She crawled over to me and I gave her a big hug. She smiled afterwards and seemed calmed down enough to make herself some tea. I took a gander outside for a moment and it looked to be at least ten o'clock or so. Corey and I wanted to go finish our last cards at the shrine, so I'll need to wake his lazy ass up and fast. I peered into his room, finding him curled up with Rena in his arms. I could also see that he was drooling in her hair, something she's likely gonna be pissed about when she wakes up. Rena hates it when there's anything in her shiny red shield of hair that she spends so long taking care of. I tapped on his shoulder and he swatted my hand away. Then I remembered an old tactic I could use on him, hopefully without any ill effects called danmaku bullets. I conjured my guitar and tuned the frequency so only Corey could hear, rose my arm way up, then flung down. It made a viciously loud sound that scared him half to death. He poked his head up, looked at me and shook his head. Then he looked down to his girlfriend and saw the puddle of drool in her head and slowly eased his way out of the futon and away from the danger zone.

"Well...she's gonna be pretty pissed off when she wakes up..." Corey sighed and bit his lip. His wings reflected the sunlight right into my eyes and blinded me for a moment while I tried to find his shoulders so I can hold on. Once I was onboard, he took off like a rocket and went straight for the shrine. His turning, again, was a little off but I wasn't about to bitch. He actually made a pretty good stop today, not throwing me off of him violently like before.

"Good morning, shrine maiden, how are you today?" I asked with a gentle smile.

"Would you please call me Reimu? And I'm doing well thank you for asking, Will-kun."

"Will...kun?" I asked confused. Did she just call me a raccoon?

"You aren't familiar with Japanese honorifics, are you?" She asked.

"You lost me at Japanese."

Reimu chuckled and said, "Don't worry, it's nothing important, just know it's to show you're my friend."

"Ah, I see, well I'm honored to be your friend shr...I mean Reimu." I corrected myself before accidentally calling her by her profession. I can kinda see how that would be weird.

"He catches on finally?" Marisa commented, coming out from the shrine.

"Very funny. So, how about those last cards?" I asked Reimu, entering the shrine with her. She was burning incense inside and the day proved hotter than normal so the increased heat probably wasn't a good idea. It sure did smell good though. Though right now, I really wish I had some source of cold, this heat was freakin' unbearable. Reimu returned with the last cards Corey and I needed, storing them until now.

"Now these last ones are like your last word in a danmaku fight. Make them count, cause they're the most important one." Reimu explained.

"Oh, and name them either something very beautiful or something very intimidating." added Marisa. It took me a while to think of what to do, I wanted to implement everything I had into one powerful display but I wasn't sure how. I was thinking about reusing my second card, Noisebreaker, but adding in vocals and my Heaven Shaker. Look at me...working so hard to come up with these when I might not even have to use them. I suppose there's nothing wrong with putting so much thought into these, just shows dedication. I decided on my original plan and put the card between my hands, feeling the surge of rapid energy flowing inside me. The song in my head pleaded innocence but also guilty brutality at the same time. Like it was mixing overkill and pacifism together. Once it was finished, I handed it to Reimu to check it. She ok'd it and handed it to Marisa.

"Needs a name, please pick a good one so I don't feel stupid for putting it in my grimoir." said a busy Marisa.

"Well...hmm...let's see..." I pondered aloud, making useless noises with my mouth.

"Symphony for the Sound Master. Does that meet your expectations?" I continued.

"Not the best, but it'll do." She replied. I shrugged and had my card handed back to me. She was finished and so was I. I stuffed the card in with the others hidden in a metal case in one of the pockets of my cargo jeans. They seemed to be quite comfortable on the ride, no wrinkles or such yet, but with all three of them there now, I could feel a slight tingling in my leg. Corey had just finished his, but this time, instead of giving the green light, Reimu shook her head and dismissed the card.

"Probably would be a very unstable card. Here I'll get you another. You'll have to come up with a more stable idea." said Reimu, walking further into the shrine.

"What were you thinking about?" I asked, wondering what horrible idea he came up with.

"I was going to try summoning Angel to help spread bullets, but I suppose with this being a different dimension, I can see how it would be unstable." Corey pondered, striking a confused pose.

"Summoning almost NEVER works right if your familiar isn't near. Trust me, I've tried interdimensional summoning, never goes right for either person, ze" Marisa laughed, probably looking back on some tale that I'm sure I'd be laughing at.

"Do tell, young witch." said Corey.

"It's not 'young' witch, it's 'ordinary' witch. And to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure what the hell happened. Tried to summon a wolf, kinda only got half the wolf through. Oh well, he made a damn fine meal..." Marisa patted her belly jokingly. Well..actually I don't think she was joking about that last part. I heard the door open and at first, expected Suika to come inside. Instead, a young blonde-haired girl come inside. She had on a blue dress and a red headband, looking to be around nineteen to twenty-one in age, give or take. Marisa looked behind her and grew a big smile.

"Alice-chan! Come in!" Marisa cheerfully motioned.

"Uhm, y-you might want to come outside...there's a tree on fire..." She said with a kinda hushed voice. Marisa took off like a lightning bolt and even Reimu was able to hear what she needed to, rushing out with her. I didn't know what to do honestly, if I had Luna with me, the problem would be solved in a few moments.

I smelled the distant smell of smoke as it got heavier and heavier. My guess was that somebody did something to make the matters worse.

"Marisa, what the hell are you doing?" I heard a familiar sounding roar.

"Sorry! I thought it would help!" Marisa roared back.

"What set the tree on fire?" Corey asked, confused as I was.

"It's outright scorching dude, but I didn't think weather alone could set something on fire..." I pondered aloud. The girl that was standing at the door wasn't there anymore. Either she was helping or watching. I didn't really care anyways, I had no clue who she was. I peered outside of the shrine for a moment and was relieved to see that the fire was put out, though anything that was on it was pretty much gone. The group returned to the table inside the shrine. I moved over to the same side as Corey so that the strange girl had a place to sit.

"Alice-chan, I'd like you to meet our new friends, Will-kun and Corey-kun." Marisa introduced us.

"Pleasure to meet you, Alice." I politely nodded my head in acknowledgement.

"Sup?" Corey asked with a careless attitude.

"Do I need to have Aurora come up with a new serum that will give you some manners? Be polite in the presence of a lady!" I scolded him. He mistook me for joking, when this time I kinda wasn't. It was nice to be laid-back but first impressions really matter.

"It's nice to meet you two." She still carried a hushed tone in her voice. Corey, luckily, stayed out of the conversations now so he could finish with his final Spell Card.

"Alice's really shy, but she's really nice too, ze" Marisa didn't seem to mind that the person she was talking about was sitting right next to her.

"M-Marisa!" said Alice with a slightly louder whisper.

"Relax, Alice, no need to be shy. We judge none and welcome all, so don't be shy, okay?" I asked politely with a gentle smile that seemed to relax her a little.

"Okay. Thank you." She still retained her hushed voice. I just now noticed that there was some sort of small person sitting in her lap. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was a fairy but there weren't any wings or any luminous aura around her. Then it stared at me, looking directly at me with it's beady eyes and it's red bow in it's hair. It was fairly creepy to me, but it was cute too. It got up and stood beside her while staring at Corey. Corey, finally finished with his last card, stared right at the thing and almost jumped away.

"Th-th-that...is that possessed? Like, black magic possessed?" Corey asked with his voice shakey and fading.

"Oh no, that's one of my dolls. I hold her up with a invisible magic string. Her name's Shanghai. Say hi, Shanghai."

The little doll smiled to Corey and bowed, just like a real human.

"Hello, little one, I'm Corey." Corey smiled at the little doll. The creepiness factor kinda faded away and Corey seems a little more at ease.

"Are you able to make them speak too?" I asked.

"Corey-kun, gimme a name, ze." Marisa asked, looking up from her grimoir as she held Corey's last Spell Card.

"I could learn how to give them voices, if I wanted. It's something that can wait though." Alice replied, setting her doll back in her lap without so much as moving her fingers.

"Corey-kun..." Marisa tried getting his attention.

"That's pretty neat, wish I had little mini-me's I could control." Corey admired the little doll. But as for Corey, he doesn't need to boost his ego any more than what it is.

"Corey, stop daydreaming bout the doll and give your card a name!" Marisa shouted, breaking his gaze on Shanghai and Alice.

"Oh, my bad. Uh, I'm trying to remember what I was going to name it..."

Marisa looked on the edge of utter frustration.

"Ooh, I remember now! Chaos Art: Angelic Endwar."

"Thank you, spacecase..." Marisa sighed, writing the name on her grimoir. Reimu giggled seeing Marisa frustrated. I looked down to my pack on my leg and started wondering off about danmaku. If we're really gonna be here for a while, will it really come out on top in the end? I wonder how Grace and Annette will do with all this. Sighing and relaxing, I summoned my headphones, them forming around my ears and playing music it pulled right from my mind. Marisa gazed up occasionally to examine the strange machines that were now on my head. She passed the card back to Corey then continued to examine my headphones. Occasionally she'd talk to Reimu then go back to her grimoir. I felt Corey tap on my shoulder, then I removed my headphones and left them hanging on my neck.

"Will, what are those?" Reimu asked, pointing to my headphones.

"Headphones, they let me listen to music without bothering anyone." I informed, making my headphones magically disappear. I still had music running around in my head, but it's nothing distracting.

"Ah, what's wrong? Are we boring you?" Marisa asked with a sly grin.

"Nah, I just need to get my mind off stuff."

"Still getting used to Gensokyo?" Alice asked, trying to get into the conversation. She's been rather quiet, even though she really shouldn't be.

"Yeah, I don't even know what all there is around here to be concerned of. I mean, past the usual food, shelter, water, usual necessities stuff. I don't know squat about youkai, about the geography, nada. And Corey here knows about as much as I do, well probably less."

"You're asking for an ass-kicking." He commented, giving me an "angry" stare while not turning his head.

"You should talk to the school teacher and see about scheduling some lessons." Reimu suggested.

"Who's the school teacher?" I asked.

"Keine Kamashirasawa." Reimu continued. That name sounded familiar, I ran through the names in my head to try and remember anyone by that name. Then it hit me...

"The grey haired one with highlights in her hair...now I remember..." I said aloud by accident.

"Oh yeah, she's the one that got us an apartment." said Corey.

"Well, I'll have to make a mental note to ask her about lessons." I, again, said aloud by accident.

"How much are the classes?" Corey asked.

"They're free, as long as you actually pay attention." added Alice. Corey and I were game for it, and we can see how many others would want the lessons too.

"Well, anyways, we should probably be getting home now. The others are likely waiting. It was great seeing you all, and it was a pleasure meeting you Alice. Do take care everyone." I bowed politely to everyone and left the shrine with Corey in tow.

"Later." Corey said, walking out with me. He summoned his wings of steel and waited til I was aboard to jet off.

"They're strange. Why did Corey-san get so tense when he saw Shanghai?" Alice asked, still in the shrine with the others.

"He doesn't like black magic. I don't know why, but he just doesn't like it." Reimu answered her then walked over to the kitchen to make tea.

"So how's it been trying to make that living doll?" Marisa asked.

"I still can't figure it out. There's just something that I'm skipping over with them. I even had one become hostile and had to purge it of magic..." Alice pondered while holding Shanghai with her arms.

"Hey, doesn't Corey-kun have some like really smart little sister?" Marisa asked, looking over to Reimu.

"I think, it's something like that. I've only heard tidbits from Aya, all of which probably aren't completely true."

"We can go to their house tonight! Reimu-chan needs to stock up on supplies at the Human Village anyways." Marisa finished. Alice debated on whether or not to go with them, she's heard that there are alot of them there. She wants to see if there could be anyone that could help her achieve her goal.

"Later though, I haven't even eaten yet." Reimu added.

"Ooh, I'll help cook!" Marisa offered, running into the kitchen.

"And here's where the chaos starts..." Alice muttered under her breath. Shanghai looked up to her, then curled up in her arms.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the apartment...

* * *

"We're home!" Corey shouted into the apartment. Everyone was scattered amongst their apartments, but most of them appeared for a moment to greet them. Corey was about to ask where Kana was when he remembered that she was visiting some poltergeist friends or something of that sort. Grace was also out, likely getting her weapons like she said she was.

"Corey, I'm ready to go fishing! Can we go fishing? Please?" Luna went to Corey first instead of Will.

"Oh yeah, we were gonna head out to do that weren't we?" Corey noted, secretely sighing. He really wanted to sit down, likely to cuddle with his girlfriend, but he had fish to catch.

"Better hop to it dude."

"I don't even really know where to go..." Corey thought hard about the areas he knew. He knew where the shrine was, he knew the village, and he kinda knew where the mansion was but nothing past that. We all sat down in Aurora and Melody's room where Aurora was working on her data management again and Melody was practicing her keyboard. She wore her red and pink headphones she learned to conjure up using her powers.

"Maybe Yami could help?" Rena suggested, sitting with us while she washed clothes. Without Kana to help, her and Satomi worked endlessly to keep up with the needs of the house. Normally I'd offer to help, but there wasn't much I could do.

"Who's Yami?" Corey and I asked together.

"Oh yeah, I never did mention her..." started Rena. She apparently was still combing pieces of dried drool from her hair, giving Corey an accusing stare. He kept his cool, which amazed me cause usually he has some smart-ass comment to come up with. Oh wait, I'm thinking of someone else...

"Yami's a vampire Melody and I met at the clothes store. She might be able to help." Rena continued.

"Vampire? You gotta be screwin' me here..." said Corey with a disturbed look on his face. Rena nodded, about the vampire part, not the other part.

"Don't worry, Melody and I are sure that she won't hurt you or Luna." Rena said with an easy-going smile. Corey shook his head and shrugged while Luna looked rather eager to meet this Yami.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. Where'd you say she was again?"

"The clothes shop, it's not far from the weapons store. I think it's called Endless Night. You just go here from the..." Rena's attempt to guide him would be futile so hopefully he was smart enough to find a sign rather than take detailed instructions.

"Alright, let's go see about getting us some fish, come on Luna." Corey motioned for the girl to follow.

"Bye Bye!" Luna waved goodbye and followed Corey outside.

"They're either going to get lost or get injured by something." I said bluntly.

"There's an eighty-five percent chance of them getting lost, Corey's strong enough to hold off foes but he's unfortunately very lacking in intellegence." Aurora chimed in after a long silence. I could smell something burning in the distance so I walked to the kitchen to see May panicked and flustered.

"Having problems?" I asked, taking command of some of the cooking.

"How do Rena and Satomi make this stuff so well?" May asked, close to calling the two in to help.

"Here, let me see if I can help. What needs done?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Marketplace...

* * *

"Scythe? No, too simple. Spear? Probably would break the damn thing..." Grace read aloud her selections inside the weapon store. She needed something better to fight with, her small survival knife wasn't gonna win any battles.

"Need help with something, ma'am?" The young man at the counter asked.

"I don't know if I can be helped. Not really even sure what I'm looking for." Grace half-said, half-mumbled.

"Well, we just got a new shipment of weapons from the underground. These might suit your fancy..." The man brought out a pair of strange rings with spikes on them. they were about an arms length wide and their spikes were incredibly sharp.

"Their called chakrams. You just throw them and they'll come back to you, like a boomerang. Their magically enchanted, so they'll always return." The man informed Grace. Grace held the discs by the rod attached to the sides of the ring. They were lightweight, but easy to take care of.

"Feels good, thanks man. How much do I owe ya?" She asked, setting the discs on the table.

"That'll be 8000 yen."

Grace dug around in her pocket and tried to make sure she had the right money. She wasn't too knowledgable about the money system here, but from what Satomi explained, you basically just take the decimal out of what it what be in U.S money.

"Okay so, with the decimal, that's eighty dollars I think..." Grace mumbled to herself, "Alright here you go."

"Pleasure doing business."

"Yuppers..." Grace finished, picking the discs up and holding them on her sides, using a small clip on her jean-skirt to keep them aloft. The people wandered around the town square, chatting about and some shopping at the stalls and vendors scattered about the town square. It was around lunchtime, the sun shining high in the sky.

"Not bad..." She smiled, enjoying the nearly-weightless chakrams hanging from her skirt.

"Did you hear about those newcomers?" Grace could hear a pair of girls talking about her, or rather her friends and family.

"Yeah, I can't imagine what they're thinking, being helpless outsiders that can't perform danmaku.", "Didn't you hear though? They already have powers!"

Grace stopped to listen in on their conversation.

"Some of them do. I think a couple don't.", "That's too bad, being outsiders and not having those powers means no danmaku for them."

Grace started to feel sad now that she learned that she wont be able to fight now. But there are others that she knew would be able to take her place.

"Luna? Too childish. Stella's too much of a pacifist, Melody can't fight worth a damn...dammit all, I'm screwed!" She continued talking to herself out loud. She didn't even notice that Corey and Luna just passed by on their way to the clothing shop.

"Grace!" Luna shouted, leaping onto her with her arms outstretched.

"Ugh...easy there kiddo, I'm not as strong as you think I am." She chuckled. Luna let go and Corey walked over to see Grace too.

"Find something did you?" Corey asked, looking at the chakrams hanging from her jean-skirt.

"Yeah, but it ain't gonna matter. Apparently I can't do that danmaku stuff or whatever it is." said Grace despairingly.

"Why not?" Luna asked, playing with her blue hair.

"Apparently outsiders can't have danmaku for some reason, save for you guys cause you already have powers, you're not normal outsiders." Grace explained, walking them over to a less crowded and less noisy spot.

"Well that sucks. Now what?" Corey asked, wondering himself about what jobs there are for a person like Grace to do.

"I don't know, I ain't got a damn clue as to where I'd find a job around here."

"Maybe Yami would know?" Corey thought aloud.

"Let's go ask her!" Luna ran off to the distant store they were looking for.

"Ugh...dammit Luna...listen, just head home for right now and explain the situation to Will. We'll all work something out." Corey instructed, then ran off with Luna to the store.

"Alright." Grace gave a quick smile. She made her way back to the apartments, a peaceful summer's day walk soothing her tensed up mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the shrine...

* * *

"That was good..." Marisa felt full after the lunchtime meal at Reimu's. Alice had left for home already, leaving just Marisa and Reimu.

"I'm glad you like it." said a grinning Reimu. The wind started to blow from outside, cooling the inside a little. It was still scorching outside, the sun starting to drain the life from the water-dependant grass. The warmth of summer this year was just unbearable.

"Hey, didn't Will-kun say there was a couple of his sisters coming down for training soon?" Marisa asked, flipping through the pages of her grimoir. In her head, she secretely liked the names of the newest additions to her grimoir. She liked that they had power, but still didn't understand how all the genetic stuff worked.

"Yeah...but I really don't want to train more people. It's too hot out for such straining work..." Reimu plopped on the floor, arms spread out on the carpet like she was taking a nap.

"Well, I sure ain't doing it. If we do it together we might be able to knock it out faster." Marisa suggested, taking the same position Reimu took. A sudden gust of extremely strong wind brought the two girls back up to sitting level. They looked outside and saw Aya, wings and camera with her like usual.

"You two might want to see this..." She said while gasping for air. It takes alot for a crow tengu to get exhausted like she was, so whatever she was running for left her running for a while. She gave a picture to Reimu, then showed another picture to Marisa.

"The Scarlet Devil Mansion's unwanted visitor..." Reimu read aloud the title on the back of the picture.

"What's this all about, ze?" Marisa asked, still trying to make sense of her situation.

"Well, I was at the mansion, visiting Remilia and looking for the newest scoop when a strange figure appeared in Patchouli's library. She was covered in a blur, something around her was distorting her image until she got close. Pretty damn fast, whatever she was. She carried around two long spears and had a purple and black dress on with a grey vest. She almost ripped me apart but Sakuya stopped her. I took a few pictures and got out of there." Aya explained, finally caught up on her breath and leaning against a wall now.

"Are they still fighting now?" Reimu asked seriously. In her head, she was confused, but also eager to investigate. Anyone who attacks the Scarlet Devil Mansion has to have some serious guts.

"Likely not, I think Sakuya got rid of her when I looked back."

"This is some freaky stuff! I kinda want to fight this girl." commented Marisa. In her eyes she found a viable opponant, as compared to Reimu's more serious view.

"I think this is worth a trip to the mansion." Marisa continued.

"Yeah...but tomorrow. It's too hot today." Reimu plopped back down on the floor.

"Well, whether you go or not doesn't matter to me, I'm going to go to check this out. I'll be back later. Come on Aya, I wanna see this, ze!" Marisa boarded her broom in a hurry and sped off with Aya.

"Finally...some peace..." Reimu whispered, still on the floor. The sound of knocking on the door made her shoot back up in confusion. She slid open the door and a semi-tall girl with short blonde hair stood alongside a shorter girl with almond-colored hair.

"Hiya! Are you Reimu?" The shorter one asked.

"Yes, is there something you need here at the shrine?" Reimu asked. She stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

"Will told us to come here. I'm Annette, and this is May." Annette stated bluntly.

"Ah, so your the next two I need to train?" She asked, a hint of anguish in her voice.

"Yup. Pleasure to meet you shrine maiden." said Annette.

"I can tell she's one of his sisters, but I don't know about the other one. Kinda brutish." Reimu thought to herself.

"Please, call me Reimu. Come in, and we'll start your training." Reimu sat down on the floor next to her mini-table in the main room of the shrine.

"I'm sure this'll be interesting..." whispered Annette.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in town...

* * *

"Actually I'm just getting ready to leave for my lunch break, but if there's something you need feel free to ask." said Yami as she left her store. Today, she wore a brown and tan elegant dress and black stockings with black slippers. She also wore a light brown hat with a very long brim, likely to keep the sunlight away from her. Corey thought she looked cute but alot of the commoners seemed to be shocked that she was wearing such a tight dress. Corey struggled to keep his eyes ALL the way north.

"Yes actually, Rena and Melody tell me that your friends with them." Corey replied, trying to keep his mannerisms. He was a little paranoid seeing those eerie black wings on her but that also helped him keep his act together.

"Oh yes! I remember them, they're the newcomers. Now that I think about it, you two are also newcomers...are you all friends?" Yami asked.

"Friends and family. Oh, sorry, my name's Corey and this is Luna. Rena is actually my girlfriend and Luna is one of Melody's sisters." said Corey. Before they met up with Yami, Corey told Luna to keep quiet while he handled the situation. The very last thing they want to do is piss off yet another vampire.

"Ah, well it's a pleasure to meet you two. Is there anything I could help with?" Yami asked, just as polite as ever. Corey, in his mind, was secretely panicking because Yami was rather cute. Now that he thought about it, ALL the girls in this dimension are cute, including the shrine maiden and her little witch friend. Corey explained the situation to Yami, accidentally including gestures and such without realizing it. Yami smiled and occasionally giggled. She could tell easily how hard he was trying to keep his cool.

"Of course, I'd be glad to help. If you will follow me, I'll lead you right there."

"Thank you so much, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. Come on, Luna." Corey motioned for her to grab onto his shoulders. His wings shined just as bright as ever, the midday sun reflecting off them and stunning Yami a little. She's never seen metal wings before, only natural ones, but she wasn't about to dismiss the possibility. They flew far from the village, halfway there they rested at a crossroads.

"You keep up well for an outsider." Yami complimented.

"Thank you very much. Oh, and do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead."

"One of Luna's sisters, Grace, is in need of a job, do you know where we could find one?" Corey asked, Luna still keeping close to him and acting like she's kinda scared.

"Well, I do know there's an opening at the local tavern, the Drunken Oni. I know they're in need of waitresses." Yami suggested. Corey nearly sprung into laughter, forcing his giggles and chuckles back inside.

"I cannot wait to see her reaction when I tell her this!" Corey thought to himself. He gave himself a headache just from holding back a smile.

"Now, if you don't mind, may I ask you a question?"

"As you wish." replied Corey. He jumped atop a lone stump of a tree with Luna hanging close.

"Why's...Luna over there so quiet?" Yami had trouble remembering if that was her name, so she pointed to her.

"She's a little shy and I told her to let me do the talking. I didn't want her accidentally saying anything that might upset a powerful youkai such as yourself." Corey sheepishly replied. Yami, surprised at first, started to laugh hardily. Corey now wore an expression of sheer confusion.

"You probably couldn't pay me to harm a living human, angry or not! Especially since your not prejudice like the others. Kid, you could probably come over and give me a big hug and I'd swear on my life I'd not harm a hair on your body." Yami came over to Luna and held out her hand close to her. Luna hesitantly took her hand and came out from Corey's shadow, standing up next to her now. Yami gave her a hug, surprising her.

"Eep!" Luna gasped, then relaxed. Her face went from a pale white to a peach color.

"See? Friends?" Yami asked. Luna nodded and smiled. Corey smiled as well, he thought the whole thing was cute.

"There ya go, Luna, no need to be afraid." Corey added, standing up and stretching his wings as he prepared for flight.

"No need at all, I love making new human friends." Yami smiled and moved a lock of her green hair out of the way of her gentle red eyes. They were already flying through the air to the not-too-far-off lake that had a certain mist above it that was rather thick. The smell of it though was refreshing to Corey and Luna, both of them whiffing it's peaceful aroma.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, where DO you get your blood from?" Corey asked, shouting a little so she could hear them over the whipping winds.

"The hospital promises to donate any extra blood to me as long as I don't harm any of the villagers. It seemed fair to me and I needed to get my store going." Yami replied, touching down on the shore to the Misty Lake, scattering some of the more easily frightened wildlife.

"Seems quite peaceful here..." Corey said aloud by accident.

"It usually is, unless the fairies here get riled up, but if they do, they're really weak and easy to take down."

"Good. Well, best get started then..." Corey made his fishing pole using his Warforger powers, crafting steel from bone and fishing line from his flesh. Of course, should the string snap, he's going to feel it for quite a while, but he was willing to take that risk.

"Hey, Yami...what's that place?" Luna asked, pointing to the elegant castle in the distance. It looked like it was right in the middle of the lake.

"That's the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where the hanami party was being held. Be warned though, that's also home to some very vicious vampires. They rarely take well to humans so be careful around there." Yami warned.

"We'll be sure to take care, thank you." said the fishing Corey.

"Well, I suppose I had better be off. I hope you guys have luck with fishing, take care. Bye!" Yami waved goodbye as she jetted off behind the shield of green trees. Luna and Corey waved goodbye and returned to their peaceful activity. Luna eventually decided to take a dip in the lake, it's waters warm enough for a nice swim.

"Uh, Luna, why were you wearing your bathing suit under your clothes this whole time?" Corey asked with a disturbed expression.

"I was hoping the hotel we were at in Tokyo would have a pool..."

"Ah I see. Well, at any rate, be careful swimming around here okay?"

"Alright!" She shouted back, already halfway into the lake. She made sure to swim away from where Corey cast his line. The waters were deep but after a little while of swimming, Luna could already see the other side of the lake. Which also means that somewhere along the undersea diving, she passed by the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She shuddered to think of what could've happened should she have been caught. She also was curious about this place but didn't dare approach. Luna figured that someday maybe her brother could take her there.

She neared the southern shore and bathed out in the sun for a little. When she was about to dive into the water, she heard a rustling in the nearby bushes. She looked back to see a small girl poking up from the tall grasses. Luna cocked her head to the side, surprised and confused.

"Hello? Anyone there?" She asked with a shakey voice.

"What if it's a vampire? I really don't wanna be a vampire..." Luna thought to herself. The rustling came to her again, but a little farther away. She heard a loud splash, suggesting that the strange girl was in the water now. Luna decided to chase after it, seeing the water to be much better for her than being out in the open. She could see the strange girl swimming underwater just fine. She could see no wings on her back so she couldn't be a vampire. Luna was calmer now and sorta toyed with the girl. They swam underwater for a while until the girl swam onto shore, backed up into a tree and frightened.

"Wh-wh-what do you want?" The girl asked with a shakey voice.

"I thought we were playing tag?" Luna said playfully.

"Tag? Oh...sorry..." She was shakey but stood up, revealing herself to be even shorter than Luna, probably only a little over 5-foot.

"It's okay. What's your name?" Luna asked, taking the hand of the little one.

"Nitori Kawashiro. What about you?" Nitori asked, becoming slowly calmer.

"My name's Luna Venitus, it's nice to meet you Nitori. So do you live here?" Luna asked, sitting on the beach with her, looking to the edges of the lake. It was hard to see, but Luna could make out where Corey sat at, fishing as usual.

"No, I actually live at the mountain next to us." Nitori pointed to the large mountain towering like a skyscraper over the lake. She could see some crow tengu flying around it occasionally.

"So would you like to play tag with me now?" Luna asked.

"Sure, but you're it!" Nitori tagged Luna and ran off for the underwater. Occasionally Corey'd see the two swimming through the water and smile at them having fun, but he couldn't figure out who the hell the other one was. As long as it wasn't hurting her, Corey wasn't going to bother them. He was just going to enjoy a nice day of peaceful fishing...

* * *

Meanwhile...back at the shrine...

* * *

"Really now?"

"Yup, that's Will's biggest weakness. He sees a girl start crying and he'll bow down to her like a she's a god." Annette laughed. Her and May had fun gossiping and telling stories with Reimu while they worked on their spell cards. With Reimu entertained, the work didn't seem nearly as bad to her.

"I'll have to remember that..." Reimu pondered aloud, making a mental note.

"Will's sweet like that. But he's also a sucker too. He let's people take advantage of him too much, but as long as he doesn't get himself killed, I'm fine with helping him." May added, finishing the last of her spell cards. This is the first time in a while May's been so involved with her work. Same for Annette, there was something about this danmaku thing that had her interested. Annette and Reimu had a brief but fun duel until Annette got knocked out of the air. Her breath was lost and her patience too. She ended up losing the match. She did stay a good sport at least, saying that Reimu was a more than worthy adversary.

"Who's that?" Annette asked, looking towards the courtyard. A girl in with short pink hair walked with a girl in a green dress. The girl in green had this strange cloud thing drifting around her, like it was the spirit of a dead brother or sister.

"Company?" May asked, observing the girl in the blue kimono. She had little spirit things around her, like ghostly orbs.

"Yuyuko-chan? What're you doing here?" Reimu asked when the girls got closer.

"I dropped by for a friendly visit. Oh, and to ask why it's so hot down here." She said with a cheery smile.

"Oh, pardon me, I didn't know you had guests~. ~And new ones at that~. It's nice to meet you two, I'm Yuyuko Saigyouji," Yuyuko introduced herself first then lowered her hand down to the other girl's level, "And this is my servant, Youmu Konpaku~." Youmu bowed and offered a kindly greeting. May and Annette introduced themselves, then resumed talking gossip and stories.

"So where are you from, Yuyuko?" May asked.

"Hakugyokurou~. What about you~?" replied Yuyuko. She was already devouring all of Reimu's snacks. Where all that food was going, the girls didn't know.

"We're from Reformed America." Annette replied quickly with her answer, still eyeballing the two of them like she was waiting for them to make another move.

"So what's Hakugyokurou?" May asked a good question and Annette was ready to hear the answer as well.

"It's known as the land of the formerly-living." Youmu answered with a dull voice.

"Uh...formerly-living?" Annette's eyes opened a little wider.

"Yes, we're ghosts! Or as Reimu-chan calls me, a hungry ghost~!"

"That's certainly interesting. What's it like being dead here?" May asked.

"It's so much fun! I get to spend all day lounging around my house and Youmu-chan makes me all kinds of yummy food~!" Yuyuko cheered, happy as can be.

"Wow, that sounds alot more fun than what our dead do..." May's mind immediately went to the thought of Angel, one of Will's dead sisters that kept herself tied to the physical realm.

"Yeah, I'm sure Angel would be pretty jealous if she heard this. Poor girl can't even give her brother a hug but you're completely physical." said Annette.

"Yup~! I'm all here, ain't that right, Youmu-chan~?" Yuyuko playfully leapt onto Youmu.

"Indeed..." Youmu seemed a little annoyed.

"So, do you two know anything about the insanely hot weather?" Reimu asked, bringing some food for everyone, double for the "hungry ghost".

"We've been hearing strange reports of sudden attacks from some of the spirits. They described a blurry figure with dual spears. I have reason to believe that she's connected somehow to the hot weather. Even Hakugyokurou seems warmer than normal." Youmu informed, gaining the full attention of May and Annette.

"How do a blurry figure with spears and hot weather connect?" Annette asked. Youmu shrugged as her little cloud laid on her lap.

"And, I'm sorry, but I gotta ask. What the hell is that thing? A cotton candy ghost?" Annette pointed to the thing on Youmu's lap.

"Youmu-chan's half-ghost and that's her other spirit half~. I think it's cute~." Yuyuko began to pet the ghost like it was dog.

"Half-ghost? HALF-ghost? How in the hell does that even work?" Annette asked bluntly.

"Your guess is as good as mine..." Youmu said under her breath.

"Not only does she look extremely young, but she's got her ghost drifting outside of her body? What kinda hellhole we in?" Annette thought to herself. It took alotta self-restraint to keep herself quiet, but she pulled it off.

"It's strange, but, well, welcome to Gensokyo." Reimu added.

* * *

And at the apartments...

* * *

"I've returned." Kana announced into the halls. Alot of the occupants were gone but Rena and Melody still welcomed the cute girl home.

"Well, what did she say?" Melody asked with hope glimmering in her eyes.

"She said she'd love to teach you. But she wants you to go there to meet her at the mansion. It's a dangerous trip, but I can guide you there and protect you." Kana offered with a sweet smile.

"Thank you so much! I really appreciate the offer, I'll go get ready." Melody ran off to her room to store the things she didn't want to lose, like her cell phone and pocket-sized cookbook.

"Are you leaving right now, sister?" Stella asked. Stella and Melody shared their room, so since Stella didn't have anything to do that day, she remained in her room to work on her powers. Already she was making bigger and bigger light orbs by the day.

"Yeah, why?"

"Cause I want to go with you. It's getting dark and you might need me to light the way." Stella made a good point, but it wasn't like Melody was going to say no. Traveling in a group through youkai infested woods isn't a bad idea.

"You're more than welcome to join, sister. Get ready, and we'll leave." Melody walked back to the kitchen where Kana waited. Stella quickly joined them and they soon left for the Forest of Magic. The sun was nearing sunset and the wind was finally starting to cool down. The breeze felt nice and with it rustling through the woodland timber, it smelled of a fresh pinewood scent.

"It feels nice out tonight..." Stella let out a dreamy sigh, then turned her head to the stars slowly appearing one by one.

"Don't let your guard down, Stella-chan, the woods are very dangerous." Kana warned, drifting ahead of the other two.

"Sorry, it's hard to resist." Stella let out a sheepish giggle.

"Understandable, but please do take care, for your safety." Melody added. Stella nodded and continued on with her head focused on the road. They walked for a while, slowly revealing what took Kana so long. The path was rather long, and for them, treacherous.

"Melody, are you singing?" Stella asked, confused.

"Nope. Why, do you want me to?" Melody asked. Before Melody knew it though, Stella was drifting off elsewhere.

"Listen to the song of the night, when the stars shine so bright..."

Stella knew she could hear singing, and wandered through the brush to find it. Finally, she saw a young girl on a tree limb, singing, barely lit by the decending sun.

"Oh, it's you that's singing. You're voice is enchanting." Stella smiled at her.

"Thanks! I'm very proud of my voice." The winged girl replied.

"What's that horrible sound?..." Kana said in the distance.

"Who's there?" Stella asked, looking around. It was incredibly dark now, Stella was barely able to see the trees in front of her now. Kana, unaffected, moved the girls away from the winged girl in the trees. Once they were able to see, Kana kept them out of harms way.

"So, you're here as well?" The winged girl asked.

"Yes, and I'll let you know now, you'll be eating neither of these girls." Kana made her point very clear. For such a cute girl, she was fairly straightforward and brutal.

"Let's see if that can be changed..." The winged girl summoned forth some danmaku, along with Kana.

"You won't win Mystia, not against me." Kana spread fire around the many trees, making a hellish waste with the area. The battle raged for quite a few minutes, ruining a couple chunks of forest. They were already using Spell Cards and both missing tragically. Stella and Melody were both worried about Kana, but they were far from doubting her. The battle raged on until Kana cast her final spell card: Poltergeist. Mystia, at wits end with the phantom, couldn't dodge the ferocious attack. Mystia, accepting defeat, ran off into the night with Kana leading the girls to the Poltergeist mansion.

"You did very well, Kana. I'm glad we have someone like you with us." Stella said with a sweet smile.

"I just want you all to be safe. It's dangerous out here, youkai like Mystia don't need to make it worse." Kana returned with a smile of her own and pointed to the mansion in the near distance. It was covered by a few vines and such but otherwise looked very nice. You could hear the sound of instruments playing not far away. By the time they were at the door, the sun was gone completely and the moon had taken it's place among the stars. Walking inside the mansion, Melody was already stunned by the amazing songs the sisters made.

"I see you've made it. I take it you're Melody?" asked Lyrica.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Prismriver." She bowed politely.

"Relax! Just call me Lyrica. So, to start off, follow me and we'll begin with a sort of test..." Lyrica floated down a nearby hall and into a personal hearing room with a small pocket where Kana and Stella could wait peacefully. There was alot of noise going around, some of it different than just violins and trumpets. Stella and Kana could hear guitars, bells, bagpipes, and other instruments, leading them to believe that there are even more poltergeists around than just the Prismriver trio.

"It's quite busy in here..." said Stella, barely able to keep her voice above the noises around them. Even the sounds of Melody and Lyrica could be heard from their isolated room.

"It usual is. The poltergeists here exist just to make noise." said Kana.

"Thanks so much for the lessons, and I'll be sure to bring him here next time." Melody gave a last bow as she left the isolated room she was in.

"Sounds good. Take care!" The young poltergeist bid farewell.

"Well, how was it?" Stella asked.

"She is so nice, but she also has a bit of sly side. She's very skilled though, and she wants me to bring Will next time."

"That's great to hear. Ready to head home?" Kana asked. The girls both nodded and left the mansion and went to the dark outside. Stella lit the way using her powers, turning the stars above into strong spotlights. It was peaceful but something was watching the trio of girls. Stella couldn't see anything, but she could feel somebody watching them...

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the apartments...

* * *

A knock at the door made me jump, but I answered the door regardless.

"Hello." A certain shrine maiden greeted.

"Oh, hi girls! Come on in." I welcomed them in. We all went to the room where Aurora was still doing work. Now she was expirimenting on some weird liquid. I hadn't even noticed that she was using her portable chemical lab until just now. Annette gave a warm welcome, while Satomi and Rena were cleaning and such. Grace was still wandering the town looking for a job while May was shopping.

"Ah, almost forgot, girls, I'd like you to meet Aurora, Corey's little sister." I introduced the still-busy girl. Aurora managed to spare them basic introductories but went straight back to work afterwards.

"Something on your mind, ze?" Marisa asked Reimu. Reimu was giving Aurora a mystified look.

"There's...something off about her. It's like she's missing her spiritual energy..." Reimu whispered to her.

"Really? You're probably just looking over it." Marisa whispered back. I could tell Aurora could hear them, she just didn't choose to acknowledge them.

"So, whatcha expirimenting on?" Annette asked, trying to keep the busy girl from listening further on Reimu and Marisa's conversation.

"At the store today, I was handed a few samples of this alcoholic drink called "sake" and I've been running tests on it to see what effects this drink may have on us Reformed." Aurora picked up a small vial and swished it's contents around, making it fizz until it was set down.

"Sake? You gotta be freakin' kidding me! You've never had sake, ze?" Marisa asked with a hardy laugh.

"None of us have. Something in the genes gets screwed up if we drink alcohol." said Annette. I was amazed that she was still awake considering that she finished all of her training in one day. Most of the time, any kind of work tires her out.

Reimu and Marisa continued to discuss the manner of Aurora's existance. Reimu was thinking about trying to use one of her little paper thingies on her to see if it did anything. I warned her about doing that, especially while she's working. Though Marisa wasn't about to listen. She snatched one of Reimu's little cards then stealthily posted it on Aurora's shoulder.

"Do you mind?" Aurora asked, giving them a brutal glare.

"Seriously, where the hell's your spirit, ze?" Marisa asked bluntly, trying to stick the little card on different spots.

"I have one, I just don't use it. Now would you kindly knock it off?" asked Aurora.

"No, no, it's gotta be in there somewhere. Let me try a couple things with my gohei..." Reimu held up her stick with papers on it and did a couple of strange dances near Aurora. I could tell Aurora was VERY quickly getting pissed off and I had to think fast to keep her from exploding on the shrine maiden or on her witch friend.

"Hey, Rena, Reimu was wondering if she could come help you cook." I said to Rena through telepathy. On cue, Rena came in wearing a plaid apron and asked Reimu to help cook. Luckily she agreed and that was one menace to Aurora dealt with.

"Annette, see if Marisa wants to duel." I messaged Annette through telepathy.

"Hey, Marisa, up for a duel? I wanna test out my new spell cards." Annette asked, standing up and giving me a quick wink. I smirked and nodded.

"Hell yeah, come on, to the Forest!" Marisa was pumped and primed, rushing out of the house with Annette following.

"Okay, go to the marketplace then head a little down the eastern road and ask a girl named Keine if you could use the schoolhouse for your works. Hurry!" I rushed her out of the door. She was gonna look a little strange carrying her mini-chem lab through the marketplace, but she'd be in a place where others wont bother her.

"Thanks, Will, I owe ya one." She smiled and ran off with her stuff. I went into the kitchen with the others to see how they were doing with supper. It was already smelling pretty good, but with Japanese food, I really didn't want to know what was in it...

* * *

"Stella, did you hear that?" Melody asked, paranoid like Stella. The woods have been far from silent, though Melody's been hearing sounds that nobody else can hear.

"You heard it again?" Stella asked. Kana was keeping her eyes open, scanning the areas that Stella lit up with her stars. The night winds were blowing gently, adding an malevolent ambience that frightened the trio. As nice as it smelled with the wind blowing through the pine trees, it wasn't getting rid of the fear they all had of the darkened woods. Stella tried nearing the sides of the roads to listen closer for any sounds, going side to side and lighting up what she could of the woods. The village was still a ways away, they were only around half-way there.

"Wh-who's there?" Stella asked, seeing a distant figure. The figure disappeared and now Stella's legs were shaking.

"Show yourself!" Kana shouted, launching a group of danmaku bullets.

Stella shrieked and called for help when she was attacked by Mystia, returning for a meal. Mystia took a large bite into Stella's leg, making her start to tear up in pain. Melody, panicked and scared screamed as loud as she could, making a sonic boom that slammed Mystia into a nearby tree. Mystia ran off, but Stella was now bleeding from the bite.

"We gotta move, I know the youkai heard all that," Kana scooped up Stella, "Let's go!"

Melody and Kana ran full speed towards the village, ducking and dodging out of the way of any youkai that come in the way.

"Kana, you're arms are so cold..." said Stella with a dimmed voice. She was already losing consciousness.

"It's okay though, thank you for carrying me..." Stella continued. Kana smiled to her while she faded to sleep. Melody worried and worried again in her head about her poor sister.

"Why wasn't I paying better attention to her? Dammit, why couldn't it have me?" Melody thought to herself. She didn't even have the breath to complain aloud, all her breath going towards getting to the village with Kana...


	6. Chapter 6: Echo Eclipse

**Chapter 6: Echo Eclipse**

* * *

"We're home! With fish!" Corey announced, walking into the kitchen. Only a part of supper had been started because May and Rena wanted to wait til Corey was back with the fish. I guess Corey already cleaned and gutted them, his hands only had a bowl with a lid on it which was way too small to hold any fish but perhaps rather some fish fillet. It was already past sundown and alot of us were well past hungry.

"Good, I could really use something to eat..." Annette moaned, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. As usual, she had no idea people could see right up her skirt but I'm pretty sure anybody that does that might lose a couple family jewels...

"Annette, put your junk away!" Grace scolded. Annette lowered her legs and hid her...well private area. She didn't really seem to care though, she was tired and that was all that ran through her mind.

"The duel with Marisa wear you out?" asked May, frying some vegetables in a pan. May had her extra arms made of flame cooking noodles and chopping up herbs and spices. I really wondered why Rena even offered to help if May had everything under control.

"Oooh, that damn mini-hakero thing or whatever it was...'bout turned me into Love-Coloured Swiss Cheese! I only got one Spell Card out before she roasted me. Heh, too bad she only got my arm." Annette rolled up the left detached sleeve of her sundress to reveal some wicked burn marks.

"Damn, might wanna have Aurora put a little ointment on that whenever she gets back. Speak of the little computer, where'd she go?" Corey asked, looking around the kitchen for her.

"Hehe, funny story 'bout that..." Annette explained the details of Reimu and Marisa annoying Aurora and me strategically distracting them to let Aurora escape.

"She's gotta be pretty pissed off right now. Speaking of pissed off people, I found that mansion you were looking for in case you wanna try your luck at vampire diplomacy." Corey pointed his thumb behind him even though the way to the mansion was more to the left of him.

"Sounds good to me. You can drop me off there when you head out to fish tomorrow morning." I replied, pointlessly examining the contents of my many cargo pants pockets. I found some trail mix in one and started munching on it til Grace begged me out of it. Her and that damn bottomless stomach had my trail mix gone before I could even look at the wrapper again. And again I was hungry and without food until the girls finished cooking.

"You better be planning on me coming along."

"Me as well."

"I wanna go too, Will!" Luna, Grace, and Annette begged, their eyes all focused on me.

"Uh-uh. Sorry sisters, but this is one trip I'm taking alone. My fault for bringing everyone here and it's my fault for pissing off that vampire. I'm fixing this, ALONE." I made my point clear, whether they want to go or not, this was my fight.

"Will, if you're that damn suicidal at least let be around to avenge your death." Annette shot back.

"No, Annette, and if you had any respect for your brother, you'll let me do this one thing without my family." I replied. I'm not gonna be responsible for anyone else getting hurt. Grace and Luna lowered their heads in defeat but Annette just seemed to be getting more pissed off.

"Are you fuckin' crazy or something? You're going up against a full damn mansion of enemies alone, you'll die in there!" Annette shouted, standing up and looming over me with an angry expression.

"Crazy or not, I'm not letting any of my family get hurt over this, end of discussion."

"Will, you're so damn stupid." Annette growled, leaving the room. Luna reached a hand out to stop her but I shook my head, letting her know not to follow her.

"Where's Stella when you need her...dammit..." Grace moaned, holding her head in her hands.

"She may be his sister, but she's gonna have to learn that there are some things Will doesn't want a bodyguard around for." May added, rubbing Grace's back with her free hand in an attempt to comfort her.

Meanwhile, somewhere in town...

"Can anyone help us? Where's the hospital?" Melody asked the locals around her but none had a response at the moment.

"Excuse me, you said you needed help?" A girl with a checkered vest and skirt asked.

"Yes, my sister's been hurt and none of us know where the hospital is, can you help us?" Melody asked in words so fast that the mysterious girl almost couldn't tell what she was saying.

"Come on, I'll show you." She motioned for them to follow. Melody and Kana ran with her down a complex of streets and to a two floor but very large building. They had a special entrance just for those with emergencies so as expected, Kana and Melody rushed inside. The girl in the checkered clothes and short green hair followed them now.

"What's the problem?" The receptionist asked, waiting at a brightly lit desk.

"My sister's been hurt and is quickly loosing blood, we need immediate help!" Melody explained. No more than a few seconds later a young doctor with short black hair scooped up Stella and carried her off, but not without giving a fearful glance their way. He rushed off pretty fast for a doctor his size, almost like he was afraid of something other than Stella's bleeding wound. The other girls had to stay in the waiting room while Stella was being stitched up and cared for.

"What happened?" The new girl asked.

"Mystia Lorelei attacked her. Stella-chan wandered too close to the edge and she surprised her and bit her leg." Kana explained, worry filling her ghostly voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I hope she'll be okay. I'll be sure to pay Mystia-san visit soon then..." The girl replied. Meanwhile, Melody sulked and blamed herself for what happened.

"Oh, sorry, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet. I'm Kana Anaberal and this is Melody Venitus. The one I carried in here was Stella Venitus, Melody's sister." Kana properly greeted them, somehow still keeping her natural calm-headed approach.

"Pleasure to meet you, although I wish it were on better circumstances. I'm Yuuko Kazami." Yuuko greeted herself.

"Thanks for showing us the way here. We're still new here." Melody added with a dim voice.

"But Kana-chan, I thought you had been living here for quite some time now?" Yuuka asked, setting her white umbrella on the chair next to her.

"I have, but as a poltergeist, I've never needed to know where the hospital was."

"That makes sense. Hey...I think I recognize you from the Banbanmaru Newspaper, aren't you one of the ones that crashed the hanami party at the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Yuuka asked, pointing to Melody. Melody began to sulk even more.

"Do you really believe Aya's half truths?" Kana shot back in defense of Melody.

Yuuka giggled and said, "I'm sure there's more to the story than what she's telling."

Melody sighed and began explaining the story of what really happened, detail and all.

"So Yukari-san brought you here? She sure is quite a troublemaker, but I've never seen her whisk away so many people at one time before. I can't imagine what the town hall's thinking right now..." said Yuuka. There was a knock on the door near Yuuka and the doctor from before entered.

"Is she okay?" Melody asked, breathless and panicked.

"She's fine, just some wounds and a little infection, we've already got her stitched up and asleep," The doctor started, changing his expression from a worried one to a happy one, "But we've found something...rather peculiar about her..."

"What is it?" Melody asked. Her heart skipped a beat and her mind was completely fogged up to the point of forgetting all of her usual overly-mannerly personality.

"Well, here's the weird thing, her blood has some sort of golden tint to it! Neither of the doctors detect magic in her, but she's radiating a sort of light from her sewn up wound. Freakiest stuff I've seen in years I tell ya..." He gave a couple laughs in between words, registering himself as semi-crazy for saying such a thing, but he hadn't a hint of falsehood in his words. Yuuka and Kana gave him confused stares and really DID think he was crazy.

"It's our genes, it can change our blood different colors. Mine would be blue, since I'm an Echocrafter. As for the light, it's also something to do with her genes." Melody explained.

"Interesting, well I'm going to return to our lab rat...er...patient, catch ya later." He left the room abrubtly with Melody giving him disturbed stares. He popped his head into the room one last time and said, "Oh, name's Ketsueki Kyuseishu by the way, and I'll be your nooby doctor for tonight."

Now Melody was crying in her chair, worried deeply about her sister.

"There, there Melody-san, he already said that your sister's gonna be okay. Ketsueki was only joking. His humor's a little out of wack, but he means no harm." Yuuka put two fingers on Melody's chin and lifted her head. Melody looked right at her cheery smile and beady eyes with her tear-soaked eyes.

"Smile, okay? You want me to stay here with you for a while?" Yuuka asked gently.

"You don't have to do that for me. I'll be fine." Melody denied with a hushed voice.

Yuuka looked at Kana and said, "Go on and head home, I'll watch over her for the night."

Kana smiled, bid Melody farewell, and left for home. When she got home, everyone was already asleep so she took the liberty of going into "hibernation" as she calls it. Yuuka comforted Melody until she fell asleep in the waiting room, talking to her about the nicer things in life like flowers and plants, then when she dubbed it okay, Yuuka left back home, also worried. Her flowers hadn't been tended to yet...

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

I rose up from my sweat-soaked futon and looked around. Corey, head poking into my room, motioned for me to follow. I yawned and snuck outside, the sun barely coming up now.

"I wanted to sneak you out so the others can't follow and drop you off at the mansion. I'll go fishing later when Luna's up." Corey gave me a friendly wink, spreading his wings wide.

"Corey, you sly sonuvabitch..." I smirked at him and got a firm grip on his shoulders. We took off, watching the still-busy town below and enjoying the cool morning air. This was probably the coldest I've been this whole time here, the heat never gave up and I was only active during later mornings. The crow tengu I've come to know and love named Aya happened to spot us flying by and thought it would be nice to see what tidbits she could pump out of us.

"What brings you around so early?" She asked, her voice raised over the whipping winds.

"Just taking care of a little unfinished business, how 'bout you?" I replied, turning my head to face her.

"Looking for the latest scoop. Care to elaborate on your unfinished business?"

"Oh, I suppose you've done a good deed clearing our names with that last paper..."

Aya giggled and said, "I aim to please~."

Aya actually did a damn good job with the last newspaper she wrote about us. She described me as a "loving and powerful leader" but she might've exagerated about me being an ambassador from the outside world, here to make peace with the creatures of Gensokyo. Regardless, her words cleared up confusion, and now the natives aren't shunning us as much. If I wasn't holding on for dear life on Corey, I'd give her a pat on the back. Already Aya had her pencil and paper ready, grinning from ear to ear.

"We're off to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to conduct a little vampire diplomacy. The least I can do is apologize for the mess I made."

"That's nice of you to do. Are you not bringing your sisters or friends other than Corey-san?" Aya asked, still writing down my first sentence. I gave her a moment to catch up then said, "None, I'm going in alone. Corey's just dropping me off. It's my problem, I'll be the one to fix it."

"Quite honorable. I take it you've already gotten Spell Cards then?" Aya asked. By now we were already nearing the Misty Lake. Surprisingly there wasn't any thick mist or fog at this time.

"Indeed, I'm more than ready to go."

Aya mumbled something under her breath and wrote even more down on her little notepad.

"That's about good for now, mind if I take a picture?" She asked, stowing away her notepad and reaching for her camera.

"Go for it."

I held out the well known rock symbol of our world, my index finger and pinky held up with my thumb holding my other two fingers down. I gave her a smirk and she took the picture with the flash blinding me for a moment.

"Thanks Will-san! See ya later!" She waved goodbye.

"Later, Aya. Take care!" I waved back. She had already made good distance away from us, heading back to the village and content with her most recent story.

"You really think it was such a good idea to let her know all that?" Corey asked. He dipped down to the shores of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the ocean breeze giving me one last good feeling before the butterflies in my stomach became active. There was a little outer casing of trees but I could see the front gates just fine from here.

"Eh, it's not like we're committing crimes or anything. Hell, I'd give her props if she managed to screw this one up."

"I wouldn't hold bets with her, she's a crafty one that'd take that as a challenge. Anyways, try to take care bro, you know Annette's gonna shove it in your face if you got killed in here." Corey turned his back to me and peered over his shoulder for the last time before flying off. I cracked my knuckles, took a deep breath, and braced myself.

"Okay, I've got this! Just one mansion, can't have that many difficulties. Let's do this!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at home...

* * *

Corey opened and closed the door to the apartments, hoping that he didn't wake anyone that was still asleep. He looked behind him and Luna looked at him with her head cocked to the side.

"Where'd Will go?" She asked innocently. Corey felt bad for sneaking him away, but he also had to come up with a way to keep her from alerting the others. Luna could hardly stand it when her brother left her side, but sometimes she'd make exceptions. Corey just hoped he could find one of those few exceptions...

"He went to go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to make some new friends and maybe even find a playmate for you. Now go pack some snacks and get ready, and we'll go fishing. You can even play with your little friend too if she's there today." Corey helped her pack up something to snack on along with an extra set of clothes in a little blue backpack she carried with her. Once they were ready, Luna grabbed onto Corey's shoulders and they took off.

"Damn, this crap takes the life outta ya...this girl's alot heavier than she looks..." Corey thought to himself, making it past the majority of the forest and putting the lake in view. He sighed to himself and felt relief for a moment. Then a bolt of pain hit his wing, searing it and knocking his flight around.

"The...hell?" He looked around to see a few fairies casting danmaku at him. He tried to weave in and out of the way, but with Luna weighing him down, he just kept getting nailed. He'd fire shots here and there, occasionally taking some of the fairies down, but he was getting peppered with danmaku that stung worse than any bee-sting.

"Dammit all! Hold on, Luna, we're going down!" Corey made a quick attempt to redirect his failing flight towards the foot of what he learned to be the Youkai Mountain. Just hearing that name ringing in his head made him shiver but he really didn't have too much of a choice on where to land. He made an indirect crash landing into the side of the mountain, a rough patch of forest to his left and the steep mountain to his right.

"Shit...feels like I've been crushed by a tank..." He moaned, getting up and looking around for Luna.

"Oh hell, where'd she go?" Corey's eyes widened as he looked frantically for the airheaded girl. The shrubs and grass here hindered his movement but after wading through thick patches of grass and fallen trees, he spotted the girl hiding behind a fallen tree, close to an enormous hole in the ground. He tried to keep quiet and not disturb any nearby enemies.

"Luna, why the..."

"Shh! You'll wake up Mr. Wolf!" Luna held a finger to her mouth while she spoke, then pointed to a large pack of wolf youkai sleeping in the nearby fields.

"H-H-Ho...holy hell...this ain't good..." Corey panicked in a hushed whisper. He looked around frantically for some sort of exit, but any way they went they were slowly being surrounded by hunting parties. He looked over to the nearby hole in the ground, tempting himself to hide in there until it was safe. The hunting parties drew closer and the pack Luna was watching was starting to wake up.

"Screw it! Come on!" Corey grabbed Luna's hand and led her to the giant hole in the ground. There was a little carved spiral leading down with just enough room for one person to walk. Corey and Luna ran quickly down the seemingly bottomless hole, tripping and stumbling occasionally but making it down with few marks and scratches.

"Damn, how deep is this place?" Corey asked aloud.

"It's pretty deep...I think there's a light at the bottom though. Yeah, I see a light, see it Corey?" Luna pointed down, distracting Corey. Corey's foot slipped and he was only a third of a second away from falling the rest of the way down. Seeing no pleasure in breaking either of his legs, Corey jumped back up onto the ledge. The light down at the bottom of the cavern was artificial, just like the bizarre floor tiles. The tiles were yellow with many markings and a yin-yang orb in the middle. Luna and Corey went from walking on stone to walking on a stairwell made of black steel steps.

"This is...strange? What's something as artificial as this doing in Gensokyo?" wondered Corey while he observed the green lights scattered on the walls at the bottom of the staircase. He took a few solid steps on the concrete, amazed to see that it was also steel.

"What's making all this light up, Corey?" Luna asked, looking at the different hallways leading further downwards. They wound through stairwells and chambers while only coming across occasional words and sounds as they traveled.

"Corey, do you think this place is...haunted?" Luna asked, clinging to him by walking right behind him. Occasionally she'd step on his shoes and almost make him fall, but he'd just shake his head and shrug every time.

"Could be, but it's doubtful. This place is pretty well fueled and I don't think a few ghosts are keeping this whole complex going." Corey reasoned with logic.

"Keep...I think...go..." Occasional words could be heard further down their set of stairs. They neared the bottom but Corey kept Luna a little farther away so if they needed to run from something, she'd be out of harms way...hopefully. That was Corey's one and only plan anyways. He peered closer and closer to the bottom and started to make out an interesting sight, if not a lovely one to him. Multitudes of girls like Nitori walked about down there, all of them working on different structures of various purposes. They were all led by a loudmouthed and kind of brainless girl with a white blouse and a long green skirt. Her black hair was long and luscious with a cute green bow in it. She also had a strange yellowish rod on her arm, marked with many strange symbols. Her back had black wings and had a lovely looking cape the looked like a starry sky.

"My, my, she's a beauty..." Corey whispered to himself. The girl gaped her mouth then narrowed her eyes at the intruder. She gave a smirk then beckoned him nearer. Corey gave a surprised look, then held his finger to his chest like he was asking her if she was talking about him. She nodded and motioned that he come closer.

"Stay up here, if something goes wrong, I want you to hide, got it?" Corey asked Luna. Luna nodded and Corey walked closer to this black-winged beauty.

"What are you doing down here?" She asked, examining Corey closely.

"Got lost, can't really find my way out. Can't say I'm complaining though, kinda like it down here." Corey gave a quick shrug. The girl eyed Corey with mystery in her eyes. She was trying to dissect his hidden trait, assuming that he had one.

"Clearly you aren't as stupid as you look." She replied with a gentle laugh. The other girls continued working around the in-the-way intruder.

"Nope, though my friends seem to think so. Anyways, what can I do about getting out of here?" Corey asked casually, occasionally moving out of the way of the kappa workers that laboured endlessly through the halls of the underground complex.

"Uhm...I don't really know how to get out. I don't need to leave." The girl replied with confusion.

"Well, this is already going out wonderfully..." Corey sighed, "Could you at least tell me where I even am?"

"Unyu? You really don't know?" She asked with her head tilted to the side.

"Nope, I'm an outsider you see. I just wandered down here to escape danger above." Corey pointed up towards the ceiling.

"Well, I'll tell you where you are but first you gotta beat me at a danmaku fight!" She exclaimed simplistically.

"Not alotta brainpower to this girl, but whatever floats her hell-spawned boat..." Corey thought to himself.

"Sure, but first, lets at least learn some names. My name's Corey, and you are?"

"Name's..." The girl took a moment to ponder. She seemed to have forgotten her own name...

"Name's Reiuji, but my master and friends call me Okuu. Now, let's play!" She took first shot, aiming her cannon at Corey and firing a barrage of green bullets. She was quite impatient to show off her powers, not even waiting for Corey to finish his original sentence.

"Let's!" Corey grew airbourne with his own wings. The chamber was immensly large and just perfect for a danmaku fight, nothing but a few machines and support structures on the walls. The girls working below took off to work in less...dangerous areas.

"Let's go to three cards, okay?" Reiuji asked, firing another salvo of bullets. Corey weaved intricately out of the way and returned fire with a spread of mini-gun fire.

"Sounds good to me." Corey replied. He grew bored and brought his tank cannons into the fight, launching faster bullets that diverged into smaller ones. Just when he would almost have her, she'd float out of the way. Corey gave her props for her fast recoveries and quick drops, but he wasn't without praise. His steel wings propelled him out of many bad situations. Reiuji, tired of waiting for Corey, held her first Spell Card and declared it as "Atomic Fire: Nuclear Fusion."

"Oh boy, this SHALL be fun!" Corey's adrenaline was pumping, his wings were stable, and his eyes were ready to meet this threat head-on. Though what he wasn't expecting was the hellstorm of fire bullets aimed at him. His eyes widened and he barely scraped his way out of one bad situation just to find himself in one that was just as bad. She may not have much of a brain but she's one hell of a powerhouse. No pun intended.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the apartments...

* * *

"Ready you two?" Annette asked May and Grace who were tailing behind. The three were going into town for various reasons. Grace was going to (much to her dismay) ask for the job as a waitress at the Drunken Oni. She already knew that her personality wasn't gonna help her much in this job, but she wasn't just gonna lounge about all day doing nothing. If there's one thing that isn't in her personality, it's a freeloader. May was to go shopping and Annette was going to look for hunting jobs. A ways into town, Grace diverged from the group and headed to the Drunken Oni.

"Here goes nothing..." She sighed to herself as she walked in. To her surprise, a mellow Melody and another strange girl sat at one of the tables. Melody waved at her and she couldn't help but go over and see her.

"Hey kiddo, where ya been? Will was worried 'bout you!" Grace playfully scolded the overly-polite brunette.

"Sorry, on the way home we all ran into some trouble..." Melody and Yuuka took turns explaining what happened and ordering food from the resturaunt that honestly looked more like a bar. People were drinking lots of sake but that still didn't drive away the happy couples and occasional families that ate there.

"Damn, you sure do know how to find trouble, girl." Grace commented. "Oh, my bad, I never introduced myself. My name's Grace, nice to meet you, Yuuka was it?"

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Grace-chan" Yuuka smiled and nodded her head.

"So what brings you here sister?" Melody asked.

"As much as I don't want to...I was looking to get a job here. Don't worry, I went ahead and flushed my dignity down the toilet earlier..." Grace sighed and held her head up with her hand.

"Toi...let?" Yuuka asked, confused.

"Heh, never mind." replied Grace.

"Anyways, it's not too bad working here. The workers are really nice and usually the drunk people only fight outside. And that rarely ever happens." Yuuka cheered up Grace. Grace appreciated it, but a feeling of self-hatred filled her still.

"Still, I go from working on tuners and muscle cars at Sutton all the way to being a waitress...man what's happened to me..." Grace still pondered on the negatives while Yuuka was trying to remember what a car was.

"No worries sister, you want me to work with you?" Melody offered, giving Grace a heartwarming smile.

"No, no, you've got lessons still, remember? I ain't taking you away from that. Besides, how often can a person say they're getting piano lessons from a poltergeist?" Grace made a valid point, actually two valid points...

"My lessons! I completely forgot!" Melody panicked, forgetting all about them.

"It's alright, poltergeists can be very patient creatures. Let's eat and then I'll escort you there myself." Yuuka offered. Melody blushed a little to hear such a generous offer.

"Oh my...I don't want to be a burden. You don't have to do that now..."

Yuuka held her hand up to Melody and said, "Don't worry now, I'll gladly take you there. Who knows, maybe I'll find another nice flower to add to my garden?" Yuuka tried to get her to agree. Not really as the escort, but more so that she can have a reason to look for Mystia so she can beat the hell out of the annoying night sparrow. Just a few minutes later, the waitress brought them their food. Their meal was indeed a much needed one...

* * *

Meanwhile, at Scarlet Devil Mansion...

* * *

The breeze felt nice as it whistled through the oak and pine here. Once I got near the front gate however, that smell of oak and pine turned into a smell of fresh food and hot tea. The guard, dressed in an olive green dress with a white blouse under it. She also had on a nifty green hat with a star and a little sign on it. She gave a big yawn like she was about to fall asleep. I approached with no ill will, no weapons showing, no cold expressions, no ill will at all.

"Stop *yawn*, what business have you here at the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" She asked in a formal tone.

"I'm here to speak with the mistress here. I have matters to speak to her about." I replied. My mind just went from totally relaxed to stiff and panicked. I didn't get why I was so tensed up already, there was just something about this place that made my whole body stiff as a board.

"The mistress isn't expecting any visitors. Leave at once." She ordered.

"Whether she's expecting anyone, I've still got business to take care of." I could see her getting ready for a fight, she didn't have any weapons on her but she took up a fighting stance.

"Business or not," She mocked, "you'll have to get through me if you wanna see the mistress!"

"Let's do this then!" I shouted back, summoning my guitar and keeping my spell cards close. She fired a group of horizontally spread and vividly colored bullets at my waist, launching a vertical salvo right after that. I leapt and dodged all I could away from the threat. Some of the bullets would graze my clothes and leave a nasty hiss when they singed the fabric. It's like the bullets were made of some kind of super-heat. I played a quick riff on my guitar and tried to surround her in bullet geysers. She took a mighty leap in the air away from them and launched more bullets. As I rolled out of the way and began running from the colorful patterns, I made room for the Heaven Shaker to appear from my back. I knew this was going to be an invaluable tool fighting her. She could leap all she wanted, but she couldn't keep away from the rings of bullets I launched with my oversized speaker. Once I adapted to her patterns, I found it a little easier to dodge, though still taxing on my physically unfit body. Then she brought out a little card that spelled dread for me. My eyes widened and she unveiled her first spell card: Flower Sign "Gorgeous Sweet Flower". I did anything from leaps to bounds to flips and even self-propultion via Heaven Shaker. This attack was rather unrelenting for her first attack, but it was also fairly beautiful if not entrancing. I didn't have time for bullet-gazing though, I had to keep moving and fast if I was going to win this.

"Not bad!" She commented with a brief few claps.

"My turn! Echo Warp: Wretched Sound!" I played a mighty chord on my guitar and made an earpiercing noise that left her defenseless while she closed her ears and winced in pain. My speaker still mounted on my back churned out waves of pulsing bullets. Just barely able to peer open her eyes, the girl swung around the waves flawlessly but her ears were still shaken from the noise of my guitar. Ending my first spell card, I already was swarmed yet again with colorful bullets.

"Hell, this is gonna be one long journey..." I sighed looking into a colorful swarm of bullets...

Meanwhile, underground...

"This is the most fun I've had in a while!" Corey shouted in glee, dodging another gust of bullets aimed at him. His steel wings have had a couple shot graze them, but he's otherwise been doing fairly well in his fight against Reiuji. She had stopped talking now, focusing her fire more and more to try and shoot down Corey, already using her second Spell Card. Corey, again, drifted out of another small mist of bullet-spread. He strategically shot his bullets around her, trying to graze her back. She started slowly drifting to the center of the chamber while she exchanged fire with him. Luna watched below, still hiding in one of the caverns. She was worried that one of them was really going to get hurt but she also was interested by this game and kinda wanted to play too.

"Chaos Art: Bulletrend!" Corey's plan worked out perfectly. Keeping her in the middle would help optimize the performance of his second spell card. Reiuji didn't know what to expect, but she knew she was wide open to all attacks. Corey summoned his long-barreled sniper and began firing lasers from it, then teleporting to another location and firing again. He enclosed her in a prism of sniper fire. The red beams had already decorated the center of the chamber and now Reiuji was trapped inside with bullets splitting off from the beams. Every time she'd aim for an open slot, she'd be denied and have to seek an alternate route. Her patience wore thin and her escape options grew more and more narrow. Her wings would constantly clip bullets sent from the red beams that slowly disappeared. She dodged the last of the bullets and gave a sigh of relief.

"Ha! You can't beat the power or nuclear fusion that easil...ow!" Her gloating was cut short by a trio of bullets aimed for her noggin. They met their mark, but it's doubtful that it hurt what little there was in her skull. Unfortunately, she met her end as well, being the first to be hit. And to add insult to injury, or rather more injury to injury, Corey (not thinking he'd actually hit her) had more salvos already on the way that he couldn't stop.

"Ack!" Reiuji held her arms up and closed her eyes in a makeshift defense and waited. After a few seconds of futile waiting, she opened her eyes and saw Corey floating in front of her and taking in his own bullets. He shed a small tear and hoped she didn't see. In his mind, Corey was cursing and shouting from the nearly unbearable pain.

"There, we both got hit, so how about we call this one a draw?" Corey asked with a faded voice.

"Are you stupid or are you just really nice?" She asked with a childish giggle.

"A little of both," Corey gave a friendly smile, "Now let's get back down."

The two slowly eased down to the steel floor. Luna still was remaining hidden until Corey gave a clear signal to come out.

"We? I thought "we" meant two people..." Reiuji asked with a confused expression. At first, Corey thought she was just using playful sarcasm but he quickly learned that her question was an honest one.

"Oh, sorry, Luna you can come out now!" Corey shouted over his shoulder to the girl in hiding. The blue haired girl peered out from the cave she hid in and quickly rushed to Corey's side.

"It's really REALLY hot down here..." Luna sighed and tried to fan herself. Corey handed her the water bottle he had stored in his deep hoodie pockets and she chugged the water happily.

"Of course it's hot, this is the home of nuclear energy! The best kind of energy!" boasted Reiuji.

"I've heard of nuclear energy before in one Aurora's books..." Corey mumbled.

"I'm surprised the whole land of Gensokyo hasn't yet heard of this energy source. It's the best thing to ever happen to this tiny realm." she boasted again.

"Why hasn't it gone topside then?" Corey asked.

"Master tells me only to use my power down here." She shrugged and began calling in different workers and such to construct on the chamber they were in.

"So what is this place anyways?" asked Corey with a very blunt manner.

"This is the Hell of Blazing Fires. You're in the nuclear reactor chamber right now." Reiuji informed.

"Ah, I see. So, if you don't mind me asking, who's this "master" person you keep talking about?"

"Oh, her name's Satori-sama. You wanna meet her?"

"Nah, I'm good for right now." Corey held up his hand and gave a friendly smile.

"Corey, I gotta pee..." Luna whispered in Corey's ear. That word sunk in Corey's head in a horrible way.

"I don't even know if there's a bathroom around here, kiddo..." Corey replied. Reiuji, after admiring her works of art around her, looked over her shoulder and said, "Oh, if you want the bathroom, it's down the hallway to the left of me. It's the eleventh door on your left." She pointed down a hallway to the right of her, either by mistake or from not knowing better, but any lead Corey had was nice.

"Alright, thanks." Corey walked down the hallways Reiuji pointed to.

"At least...I think eleven comes after nine...does it?" Reiuji shrugged and continued managing her kappa workers. Corey walked Luna down the hallway, counting the doors as he went since they didn't have any numbers on them. He reached the eleventh door and pushed a button on it's side to open it.

"Ho-ho-holy shit!" Corey shouted, staring at about a dozen naked female kappa getting ready to clean off in the baths. He swerved out of the way of a dozen bullets fired from the angry kappa and shut the door.

"Wrong door, definitely the wrong door!" He whispered to himself, tempted to flee into another room.

"Okay, Luna, one of these doors has to have a bathroom in it, but if anyone's gonna open the door, it's gonna be you!" Corey hardily noted, showing her how to push the button on the door while he stood away from the area. After a few wrong guesses, Luna found the bathroom, or at least, a toilet as far as Corey knew. He waited for a while for his female friend and then finally went back over to Reiuji. In Corey's mind he knew that if Rena was around, she'd have beat the hell out him a long time ago, considering that not only was he warming up to Reiuji, but he also just gazed into a cornucopia of naked females. Needless to say, he considers an unfateful encounter with his girlfriend alot more dangerous than an encounter with an unknown enemy...

Meanwhile, back at the marketplace...

"I hope you had a little more luck than I did..." May said quietly to Annette. Both of them had regrouped back at the Drunken Oni and discussed what to do for their next step. A recent flood caused food prices to hit some insane number and also scattered alot of youkai, making it hard for anyone to coordinate hunting missions. The sun was a little bit past it's peak point, meaning it was around one or two in the afternoon. The sun was horribly hot, almost everyone was out and about in as little clothing as possible. With no A/Cs or fans to cool them off, alot of poor people and Youkai had to bear the heat. Hell, even a little ice fairy was selling frozen frogs as a form of cooling out in the marketplace. Why she had frogs in her ice dumbfounded May and Annette, along with alot of others that bought ice from her.

"I'd be lying if I told you I found some work. Where the hell do we go now?" Annette asked with a heightened voice that attracted a little too much attention. The two sat down at one of the outside tables of the Drunken Oni and pondered some ideas.

"I'm sure it can't be that hard to find a hunting job..." May commented, thinking about some of the kinds of youkai nobody would want around. It all was a matter of where and what really, something May didn't think would be too hard to work with.

"There's alot more to it than what you probably think, ya know. Besides, you got the easy job, all you gotta do is scrounge up some food, how hard is that?"

"Uh, do you want us to spend five bucks just for some bread?" May asked with a disturbed expression, "You gotta know a little bit of money management."

"And you don't think I can handle a budget as well as you can?" Annette scoffed.

"You wanna go grocery shopping then?" May asked, sliding her coin purse to Annette.

"Fine, sounds good!" Annette took her coin purse and gave May a cocky smile, "How about you go find me some hunting jobs then?"

"I'm better than ready." May shot back.

The two girls parted ways to fulfill each other's jobs, not actually mad at each other, but both eager to get away from the same old same old. Little did they know though, that the problems that one faced was exactly as the other told them. Indeed there were hunting jobs, but they were in places hard to get to or extremely dangerous. And there was also many places to buy food but so many of them were insanely priced.

"Ugh...I don't even know any of these places...who do I have to torch around here to get a good hunting job?" May put her hands on her hips and gave the notifications board an angered expression. She looked along a few other job posting boards but none of them held any luck for May. After a while of deep thought, she came up with the interesting idea to ask the local shrine maiden if she's heard of anything. From their last visit, Reimu seemed warmed up enough to May to offer help.

The guards at the front gate warned May about the dangers after she passed through the gates. May nodded and kept going, hoping she could remember the way to the shrine.

"Okay so...was it a left first then you keep going or...?" May mentally recollected the wrong directions.

"Wait, I'll just call Will and ask...no wait, no reception here. Dammit!" May cursed and sighed then tried again to recollect the directions.

"Oh, it was right then left! Okay, okay, now I remember..." May carried on her one-person conversation.

"I think I've been hanging around Corey too much, now I'm starting to talk to myself..." May thought to herself. The road was warped from the sheer heat radiating from it, but May didn't seem to mind. Her power over fire made her strong, if not completely immune, to extreme heat. With a little honing of her skills, she could go as far as bathing in lava if she wanted. Of course, that was a distant and VERY far-off dream that only the most accomplished Cinderbuilders could achieve. Wouldn't it be nice though...

She could see the distant steps where she was to climb up to the shrine. Distant trees guarded the entrance mostly, save for the large red gateway that just screamed "Japanese". Nevertheless, May liked it at the shrine, despite the strange characters that flocked there. It radiated a very home-like aura that made her feel welcome. Of course, the effects amplified thanks to it's only permanant resident, Reimu.

"Finally..." May sighed. She neared the distant staircase leading to the shrine and then a shadow flew high in the sky from one of the trees. It was extremely blurry and hard for May to see, but she was armed. In her mind, she knew to get her fireballs ready but she couldn't for some reason. It was like her fear of the thing was being amplified. The figure started getting nearer and nearer, getting easier and easier to see.

"Come on, it's now or never!" May shouted in her mind, gritting her teeth and spewing flame danmaku at the creature. The human-like figure ducked and dodged effortlessly away from the girl's fire, nearing her with a threatening pose. She continued to try assaulting it with danmaku, but it was too fast and once it was near, it started swiping at her with it's dual spears. May could feel the wind scattering when she swung, making her attacks even more intimidating. Her lower left leg took a nasty gash that left her bleeding horribly. She kneeled down now, her leg in serious pain. The blurry figure raised one of it's spears up for a final blow, the light reflecting off it's pointed tip. She could see this girl's face clearly, but not that it mattered right now...May could only see her death staring at her with a menacing glare...

Meanwhile, back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion...

Two spell cards down from that fighter girl...she was a tough fighter alright. Her bullet barrages were some fierce little bastards and her spell cards were outright ridiculous. I hadn't yet used my second card, but she had used hers. I think it was called Colorful Sign: Colorful Rain. Something like that. I had been so close to nailing her so many damn times but she slipped out of every shot I fired. No matter though, I know my last one will have her down for the count.

"Echo Warp: Noisebreaker!" I shouted to the heavens, summoning a tunnel of bullets around the green girl. I could hear a distant "Oh crap..." which in turn gave me a gentle smile. I took a strong grip on the closer area of frets then flung down on my guitar, starting a wicked solo that spawned dozens of bullet geysers in the tunnel she was trapped in. I could see her bouncing around in there, trying to avoid the storm of fire but eventually she hit her end. I could see her getting pounded into the ceiling of bullets and getting flung out of it, ending this danmaku duel. I let my guitar fade away and stored my Spell Cards up, then walked over to the girl to help her up.

"Looks like someone couldn't handle the pressure." I mocked.

"*Sigh* I suppose I should let you in now..." She replied, accepting my outstretched hand. She had a damn firm grip, I'll give her props on her strength but brute force alone doesn't win every match.

"Mind if I ask your name at least?" She asked.

"Name's Will Venitus, pleased to meetchya." I gave a subtle and informal bow.

"I'm Hong Meirin. I'm the gatekeeper here. You've beaten me so I'll let you through the gate but whatever happens in there isn't my responsibility. Have fun." She leaned back on the brick wall and looked like she was about to take a nap. I shrugged and entered the doors of the mansion. Setting my first foot into the mansion, I could already feel a heavy sensation pounding it's way into my head. The door slammed shut behind me and made me jump. I made sure to silence my steps using my powers and completely erase the sounds of my breathing. Tapping even further into my reserves of hardly used powers I made a field around me about four meters outwards that would amplify any noises and broadcast them into my headphones. I was ready for my infiltration...er...diplomacy mission. The only reason I wanted to be sneaky around here was because I wanted to find the mistress and make peace with her, not find her other mansion dwellers and have to make war with them. I felt bad going so hard on poor Hong outside, I really didn't want to get into a fight but I wasn't going to make it all the way to the mistress without at least one. Let's hope I can avoid arousing any attention. The halls were vast and there wasn't many places I could hide if I was to be spotted. The worst part about this was that there were alot of fairy maids running about in here. My first goal was to see if I could find any sort of judge of direction as to where exactly I was heading. The place was large on the outside, but absolutely freakin' enormous on the inside. Something was definitely amiss in here, there's no way all this could be fitting into a smaller outer shell...unless...maybe it goes underground? That could be it...it would make alot more than any time-space theories that'd make me sound like I'd been reading too many of Aurora's books.

"Crap!" I said without a sound, ducking into an open doorway when I saw a certain knife-throwing maid catch a slight peek at me. I knew she'd be coming in to look and see what it was so I had to think fast. From what I could tell, I was in a library, one hell of a library to add that. The shelves were stocked full and I hadn't even truly entered the room yet. I snuck around different shelves that shadowed my appearance. I could see now that this library wasn't just huge, it was batshit insane. There's no way in any normal reality that this place existed normally. I stuck to the shadows and moved around quickly. The maid was gone now but I didn't dare go back through that hallway in case she was still lingering around there. I could see a distant doorway I could use but it was completely diagonal to me and at least a rooms length.

And to make matters worse, there was a purple-haired girl in a nightgown reading at a nearby table and she was able to see anywhere I'd move to. Her mind may be buried in a book right now, but all it takes is one glance up and I'm screwed. I haven't a damned clue as to what to do right now.

"Dammit!" I lipped again in frustration, she saw me just as I put my head back.

"Marisa? Are you snatching more books?" She shouted, walking this way. I dashed down a row of shelves and was just barely lingering in sight. She still thought that I was Marisa, but I wasn't about to stick around and prove her wrong. I really wanted to avoid fighting right now and if I can just slip out of sight, I think I can properly escape. Already she was launching exploding fire bullets that weren't far from my feet. I'd make a quick turn and a fireball would nearly hit my foot. She had me cornered finally, stuck in a brightly lit dead end. Normally I'd consider climbing the shelves, but she'd see me before I can escape. My heart raced and raced, my sweat covered my face...I was screwed. Then she gave me a confused look as the sunlight illuminated me.

"Wait...you're not..."

"Not Marisa? I know her, but I didn't think we looked similar." I chuckled, trying to alleviate any unneeded tension.

"Then who are you? And what're you doing in my library?" She asked, floating magically in the air with her tome still in hand. I wasn't about to try running now, I'd be dead before I hit the floor, if anything of me even remained. I briefly explained my mission in here to meet with the mistress here, Remilia. She remembered me from the party and smiled at my mission to return here just to apologize.

"I think I know where she is. Sakuya?" The girl beckoned behind her, despite nobody being around. Then the knife-throwing maid just popped up on the spot with a silver platter with food on it! My eyes widened and I backed up even further into the dead end, still frightened at her malicious skill with the small knives.

"Could you bring Remilia here? We have a visitor that wishes to see her."

"Of course, let me bring this food to her sister and I'll get her." And just like that the maid disappeared again.

"Oh, where are my manners, I'm Patchouli Knowledge. And who are you, if I might ask?" Patchouli asked, holding her tome closer to her with her arms. She finally realized that she didn't have to keep floating around and set foot onto the floor.

"My name's Will Venitus. Sorry if I caused a problem." I apologized and nodded.

"Oh no, it's fine."

Sakuya was already back with the mistress in tow. I backed out of my corner and she motioned to follow. I was initially frightened beyond any normal belief. I worried that she was going to take me to some torture chamber or a private area so she can suck my blood in peace. But no, she actually brought me out to a balcony, Patchouli and Sakuya remaining in the library.

"So, what business do you have here, outsider?" She asked. The table we sat at was small, just small enough that if she wanted to, she reach over and suck the life right outta me. I took my mind off that and tried to string together comprehensable sentences in my head. Shaken out of my daze I said, "My name's Corey and I wanted to formally apologize for the accident that occured not long ago regarding a party for your youkai friends. I had no intention of ruining the party with what I did, but as I would hope that you could imagine, none of my friends nor I understood what happened or where we were. All we needed to know was that we needed to move and fast. Again, I'm terribly sorry for what happened. I can understand completely if you have the urge to feed on my blood like a divine feast..." I sighed and kept my head down, expecting the worst. I know these demonic types, all they want is what shows up to them. I walked right in here expecting what was to happen, and at least now I can die with no regrets.

"My...you are a commendable one. I'll gladly accept your apology." Remilia replied with a heartwarming smile, at least, heartwarming for a vampire. I could see a very small hint of her fangs past that smile, which almost led me to stop breathing.

"The...hell? Did she just say what I think she said?..." I thought to myself, wearing a dumbfounded expression and accidentaly cocking my head to the side.

"Relax human, you're in no danger. If anything, I should be also be apologizing for wanting you killed on the spot that night." She giggled and had her maid bring tea for the both of us. I slowly calmed down from my stiff, tense mode but I still expected the worse.

"But, it was I that ruined your party, I don't see why you would need to..."

Remilia held up a hand and said, "I was the one that only made matters worse by trying to kill you. I should've greeted you and given you a choice on whether to stay or go. But alas, I'd been tense that night from preparing the festival. Perhaps it wasn't the best choice of action, but I'll let you know, I mean no ill will against you outsider."

"And I have no ill will against you either, Mrs. Scarlet, I have the utmost respect for creatures above my race. You seem very polite and gentle, especially for someone with such a...fearsome reputation." I replied. I wish my legs would quit quaking, but from all the stories I've heard of this legendary vampire, I have reason to be frightened.

"Please, just call me Remilia. The stories you've heard about me are likely quite true. But my hostility over the years towards fresh bloods has faded and I, in fact, am quite tolerable to your race, despite my needs to feed occasionally on your kinds' delicious blood. I'm honestly surprised you were willing to fight your way inside just to apologize." Remilia gave a kindly laugh that again displayed her fangs. Damn, I'd hate to see what damage that maid could do throwing one of those, that thing's sharper than any blade I think I've ever seen.

"Of course, being new here, I don't want any to harbor ill feelings to me or my friends and family. If I needed to fight to get to peace, so be it. I just hate when I leave the messes I've made behind. Oh, and I'm terribly sorry if I hurt Hong any, I suppose I went a little overboard with my Spell Card. I'll be sure to apologize to her too on my way..."

Remilia held up her hand, stopping me midsentence, and said, "Don't worry about Hong, she's very strong. I was actually watching around halfway into the fight. I heard a rather loud noise from outside and inspected from here." Remilia sipped her tea and I just now noticed that the maid brought those quite a while ago. I hadn't even noticed, but just as well, it gives the tea time to cool down. I tried a sip and was surprised to taste such a vivid mint in it.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry about that. I really didn't want to fight her, honest, but I kinda didn't have a choice..." I mumbled.

"It's fine, it keeps her from sleeping on the job. I have to say though, your fighting skills are interesting. I've never seen Hong get stunned like that. What was that Spell Card again?" She asked. I pulled out my cards and handed them to her.

"Echo Warp: Wretched Sound. That's my first card and also the one that made the chaotic noise. That was my plan from when I made it. Since I can't fly, I have to add tricks to my cards." I explained. She seemed interested by the names more than anything strangely.

"Would you care to elaborate on the other one?"

"The other utilizes a unique feature with my guitar..." I began explaining the cards power and soon took back my cards. She really seemed genuinely interested with my capabilities. This girl, not only was she polite and rather sweet, she was also very cute as well. I started to grow...somewhat comfortable around her. Then she did something strange, something that made me stiff as a board again. She held out a thin but visible string that also had little diverging points on it. It looked like a root system to a plant, but it was floating in the air and was too thin to be a root system of any kind. I was wondering if secretly, all this time, she had plans to strangle me or something with those mysterious strings.

"Wh-wh-what is t-that?" I asked with a stuttering voice.

"It's your fate. Your past, present and future. In case you've never heard about it before, I have somewhat of a grasp on how someone's fate works. Of course, I cannot control the past and I have limits on the future, but I can at least see what happens. My, my...you've had a life almost as grim as mine..."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" I jested. How was I able to make a joke when she has control over my fate, she could be plotting to turn me into one of her undead followers!

Remilia gave a quiet laugh and said, "Depends on how you look at it. Anyways, I'm somewhat interested to learn exactly what happened in your...grim preceedings." She asked a good question. Honestly, looking back on everything, it amazed me that even I knew what all happened. I began telling a short tale about what all has happened in the world, as far as Reformed went, so that she would better understand the story. She claimed that in Gensokyo, I'd be fairly close to a youkai-human hybrid. When I told her about some of us Reformed having longer life-spans she almost declared me a full youkai magician. I kinda liked the sound of that, so I just kinda went with it. I continued with the story of how I found my real family, Sakuya was still tending to her mistress and Remilia seemed genuinely curious as to my life. I think today I may have actually officially made friends with this vampire. I wasn't to ever complain though, she really was sweeter than some people still made her out to be...I still don't quite trust her though...

Meanwhile, underground...

After a while of casual banter, Reiuji showing me around the geyser facility, and Luna getting lost for a while, Reiuji showed them the way out. The facility was nice but Luna and Corey were more than ready for some fresh air.

"Thanks again for the help, take care." Corey gave Reiuji a farewell bow and walked out of an open cave with Luna in tow.

"Come back soon!" Reiuji replied, waving goodbye.

"She was really nice." Corey smiled to himself.

"She's pretty too. Think you might want a switch in girlfriends?" Luna mischiviously asked with a sly grin.

"Heh, I wish. Rena'd kill me and Angel'd be pretty pissed off too if I told her I dumped Rena. Besides, not to be mean or anything, but Okuu isn't exactly on the bright side..." Corey said more to himself than to Luna. They sucked up the fresh mountain air and enjoyed the gentle breeze that cooled them off little by little. It was a nice facility down in the geysers but it was hotter than hell down there.

"Hey, Corey, where are we?" Luna asked, looking around for some sort of landmark to help them find their way back.

"Well, that's a damn good question...where ARE we?" Corey scratched his head in confusion, then took to the skies for a moment to check their position. The only thing around them was mountains and woodlands, which didn't help Corey one bit. Secretely Corey panicked, but he knew that if he really needed to, he could probably just go back underground and ask Reiuji. He shook his head at the thought and considered them being lost to be a good start to learning the geography of Gensokyo.

"Well, Luna, let's get..." Corey was stopped when he noticed that Luna found a special little friend that was their key to getting out.

"Could you show us how to get back to the Misty Lake?" Luna asked Nitori. Nitori was playing around with some sort of machine near the entrance to the cave, tapping on strange buttons and working on complex machinery. It was astounding to Corey, he was amazed that there was such advanced machines here in a world that was so void of modernization.

"Oh, of course! But, uh..." She hesitated to speak.

"What is it?" Luna asked, her head cocked to the side.

"What were you doing down in the geyser facility? I'm surprised that Reiuji didn't kill you on the spot..." said Nitori, not too caring of why Reiuji let him inside, but still interested by her reason.

Corey briefly explained how Luna and him found their way down there and how they became friends with the raven-like girl. Nitori was surprised, but more focused on leading them to the lake. Corey really hoped that all his supplies were still stored in the little fishing hut he made yesterday out of some thick sand. He didn't want to have to lug all his supplies around each day, but he didn't want the local wildlife stealing it either, so he made a little hidden bunker for his stuff. The way there was treacherous, multiple fairies and a couple wolf youkai attacked along the way. Nitori proved her power as a guide and shot down more than her fair share of youkai. Corey was semi-impressed that this little water-dweller had this much fight in her. He even praised her openly on some occasions. She just smiled and thanked him. Once they were back, Corey quickly dug for his supplies. He let out a huge sigh when he saw that all his supplies remained intact and there. He summoned his fishing rod, baited it, and readied himself to begin fishing.

Around halfway into fishing, a pleasant sound found it's way into his ears.

"Hmph...if I didn't know any better..." He summoned his sniper in his unused arm and focused his sights on the mansion in the distance. Corey began to curse his itchy trigger finger as he scoped out the many residents of the mansion.

"Let's see...we've got one sleeping gatekeeper...one purple-haired girl in her nightgown in the library, least I think that's the library..." Corey continued mumbling to himself. His frequency to talk to himself has increased ten-fold since he's arrived here. The more stressed out he gets, the more he talks to himself.

"And we also have a certain Echocrafter hitting off with...is that vampire? Damn, she's pretty cute for a vampire..."

"I believe we have a spy in the distance..." Remilia noted, catching the midday sun glimmering off Corey's sniper.

"Shall I show him his error, mistress?" Sakuya offered, taking a handful of knifes in her hand.

"Please do."

I tried to focus a little better on the target, I could see a glimmer of light, but I couldn't tell what it was. Then I saw a familiar hoodie come into focus, and I knew he was about to get a nice little surprise. Normally, I'd be struggling to keep the knife-thrower from ripping him a new one, but in this case, I think he could use a nice little scare. Sakuya, knives in hand, tossed them accurately at his position. They sailed at rapid speeds right before his very feet. I could hear him cussing and swearing in the distance.

"In case your wondering, that was one of my friends, Corey." I added, grinning widely.

"I take it he enjoys spying on others?" Remilia asked while she looked over her shoulder to see what damage Sakuya's knives did.

"He tends to find the doings of others to be quite interesting, thus he learns new ways to peek into things he shouldn't be." I still smiled at seeing him squirm and I think he was even giving us the famous middle finger. Judging from the hint of red I could see on the beach, I think one of the knives hit it's mark. Hehe, that's what he gets for spying. But he wasn't to be taken lightly now, he already was returning fire at Sakuya. I could see extremely fast blue bullets grazing Sakuya's maid outfit. I channeled my telepathy and said exclusively to him, "Dude, you better chill out, or it's not just gonna be your ass, it's gonna be mine too. Put the gun down."

Lucky for me, he obeyed and continued to hold his foot in pain.

"I'm terribly, TERRIBLY sorry about him. He's a little..."

"Trigger-happy?" Remilia finished my sentence for me.

"I'm amazed you know what that term means." I added.

"It's something I use to describe people like that infernal witch that keeps picking battles with my staff."

"Witch...witch...oh you mean Marisa?" I asked as a picture of the cocky broom-rider popped up in my head.

"Unfortunately, yes..." Sakuya added as she returned to us on the balcony. She swept off her dress and checked to see if Corey's sniper fire tore any of her clothes. She seemed fine, but I wasn't going to doubt Corey's aim.

"She can be a little headstrong." I noted, siding with Sakuya. She's a friendly girl, but she sure knows how to pick a battle.

"Headstrong? Ha! That barely does that cocky girl justice. It's an understatement! She's fought with just about every person in my mansion, fairy maids included." exclaimed Remilia.

"And no matter how many times Patchoulli forcefully expels her from the library, she always comes back." Sakuya added to Remilia's sentence.

"I didn't think she was that much of a nuisance...hehe, well they can't all be perfect I suppose. If you think she's bad, at least she doesn't know lockpicking like one of my sisters does..." I sighed, looking back now at all the times she's picked the lock into my bedroom when she wanted to see me.

"She does do lockpicking, but when she feels lazy, she just hops through the blasted windows..." Remilia sighed with a troubled expression.

"Why not put locks on the windows?" I asked, looking at a nearby window to see if they were locked too.

"No point, she'd likely just break them to get in." said Sakuya.

"Does seem like quite a troublemaker, heh. I wish I had some way to help, but with her, I'm not sure there is any helping..."

"Don't waste your time, human, she'll ALWAYS find someway inside." Remilia sighed. After a while of casual banter, I decided to take my leave. I could see that Corey had flown over to the shore of the mansion and waved for me to come. Sakuya was already aiming her knives but I stopped her quickly before she shot down my way home. Remilia followed me to the entrance of the mansion, along with Sakuya.

"Before I go, there was one other thing I wanted to discuss..." I said, standing at the door.

"Do tell, human." said a calm Remilia.

"Though you've accepted my declaration of peace, I still feel a little inner guilt for what I did. I wish to offer you the services of my sisters, all five of them. With a maid of my own keeping my home clean, they grow bored, and I think this would be a perfect way to relieve not only myself of burden, but make things a little easier on your lovely maid." I monologued, but with honesty. Remilia widened her eyes some at the offer, truly amazed that I, as a lowly outsider, would be so offering towards someone I met only today. Perhaps I do place too much trust in others, but honestly, I was still guilt-ridden. Though it wasn't even really my fault, I couldn't help but feel it was.

"I...suppose that could be arranged. What say you, Sakuya?" Remilia looked up to her maid. The two differed greatly in height, but then again, it could just be me.

"Normally I can handle everything fine, but extra help is always welcome." Sakuya smiled for once, amused to see that her workload was about to be genuinely sliced in half.

"Good, good. I'll send them here tomorrow to begin work. I'll likely join them to keep them on their best behavoir. I thank you so very much for being so cooperative." I bowed a good few times before officially leaving. I shut the door behind me and walked out of the still open iron gates. I closed those behind me as well, accidentally waking the sleeping gatekeeper.

"Hey, sorry about hurting you earlier. You okay?" I asked, walking closer to her to see if my attack did any immediate damage.

"Oh, yeah," She yawned and gave a mighty stretch, "I'm fine. Though I want a rematch sometime! I wasn't at my best today." She crossed her arms and gave me a sly smile.

"Perhaps tomorrow when I'm free, we could fight again."

"You're coming again tomorrow?"

"Yes, I've offered the labor of my sisters to the mansion for a while, so expect to see me alot." I chuckled. I could see an impatient Corey tapping his foot with his arms crossed so I made sure to finish up my conversation fast and bid Hong farewell. Taking a grip of Corey's shoulders, we took off for our home in the sunset. He already took Luna home, which brought up another issue that I worry about. What all mischief will she get in while we're working there? Should I keep her at home so she doesn't break anything? No, that'd be unfair to her...but I'll make sure to see about somebody watching over her at all times...

Back near the shrine...

May was about to just hand her enemy the victory, when a brutish sister of Will knocked the mysterious enemy out of the way.

"Annette? What are you doing here?" May asked in confusion.

"Don't worry about why, just help me take care of this punk!" She shot back, launching a barrage of storm spheres shaped like danmaku bullets. Neither girl refused to hold back now, unleashing their fiercest power.

"Solar Sign: Starstorm!" May declared her first spell card, though she wished it were under better circumstances. Neither her or Annette had the chance to test their skills when they learned about danmaku and got their Spell Cards.

May raised a hand to the sky and summoned a row of comet-like danmaku that shot to the floor. When they hit the ground, they exploded and tossed around random flame danmaku. The mysterious girl ducked and weaved out of the way to attack Annette this time. Annette shot and shot again at the mystery girl, missing every time. Annette grew tired of this game and started dueling with her using her wind scythes she made from just the wicked winds around her. They clashed together again and again, Annette slowly losing her ability to fight. Their enemy wasn't weak at all, but she also didn't want to abide by regular danmaku rules.

"Dammit..." Annette sighed, taking another hit and spilling blood.

"I"m gonna feel like an idiot for doing this but..." Annette thought to herself, something she really didn't have time for.

"Brutal Wind: Tempest Warhammer!" She declared her first Spell Card as well, but felt like an idiot for playing along with calling it aloud. Regardless, she was in deep trouble if she didn't step up her game. An enormous warhammer of pure wind appeared in Annette's hands, and once she was a good distance from her opponant, she slammed it onto her position, making a wind wave of danmaku, and to make the attack better, the hammer exploded into even more bullets that made a sort of tidal wave of air bullets. The figure was gone now, where she went, neither of them cared. Both girls were well past injured and had to limp towards the shrine.

"So what were you doing wandering to the shrine alone?" Annette asked, grunting and groaning as she climbed the stairs while holding up May.

"I was going to ask her if she had any ideas for a hunting mission..." May admitted with a guilt-ridden voice.

"Heh...I figured as much." Annette spared a quick smile.

"And what were you doing around here?" May asked.

"I was just...uh..."

"Looking for shopping tips? I don't think you came here to give donations." May finished Annette's sentence and gave her a sly smile.

"Alright, you caught me. We probably should've worked together on this." replied Annette, still grunting and occasionally wincing in pain. The enemy, whoever she was, gave Annette a nasty slice right down her left hip, ruining her favorite dress too. They finally reached the top of the stairs, but both of them were closed to passing out there instead of getting to the actual shrine.

"What happened?" Reimu asked, putting aside sweeping the shrine's courtyard to help the two inside the shrine.

"Tell me, do you usually keep spear-wielding youkai around here?" asked Annette, sarcastically.

"Spear-wielding youkai?" Reimu pondered while she fetched some medical supplies.

"Oh, I think she means that one that attacked Remilia's place not long ago. Remember when Aya brought those pictures, ze?" Marisa was also in the shrine, dining on rice cakes and tea.

"Ah, now I remember. But what was that youkai doing so close to the shrine? Normally, the only youkai that gets near the shrine is Rumia..." Reimu again pondered to herself, helping bandage both May and Annette. May began explaining how the fight went out and how the mysterious girl suddenly vanished after Annette's first attack.

"Heh, maybe you vaporized her, ze." Marisa chuckled.

"I wish, she's too strong to go down that eas...ow, careful, that stings..." Annette complained as Reimu finished bandaging a wound on Annette's lower arm.

"Would you like to do it?" asked Reimu.

"No...sorry..." Annette sighed.

"I think I'mma gonna go youkai hunting. I want a piece of this strange little enemy." Marisa boarded her broom and took off without us even realizing what just happened. She knows how to take off in a hurry. Reimu just shook her head in dismissal.

"Is she usually that energetic?" May asked, comforting her bandaged leg.

"Energetic, no. Cocky, yes. If there's room for a fight, she'll fight." Reimu rolled her eyes and finished with bandaging the girls. She stored away her medical supplies and sat down at her usual spot, north side of the little coffee table.

"I wonder how much Will's gonna freak out when he sees us injured." Annette chuckled.

"You all should be thankful that you weren't killed today. Youkai can be very lethal if you don't know what they're capable of." Reimu added, sipping on her tea she made for herself earlier before the girls arrived.

"I take it you have no hints as to who this mystery girl is?" May asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I've never seen this girl before. First we get a group of newcomers, now we have this strange blur-person...I bet this is all one of Yukari's idiotic schemes..." Reimu talked more to herself than to the girls.

"Yukari?" Annette asked with a confused expression.

"She's the gap youkai and the main source of any mischief that goes on around Gensokyo. I've tried calling her but she's not been responding lately." Reimu briefly explained. She also went into detail about some of the many things Yukari has done, such as the War of the Moon. Once the girls were ready to go, Annette conjured up what power she could to keep airbourne with her angel-like white wings. She carried May all the way back to the apartments where the two were greeted by Rena and Satomi. Kana was out for a moment to get some extra cooking ingredients.

"What happened?" Rena asked, looking at Annette's wounds and then May's wounds.

"Ran into a little trouble on the way here." Annette quickly shrugged off Rena's additional attention.

"Who gave you the bandages?" Satomi asked. May began explaining, again, what happened near the shrine. Almost on cue, Corey and I returned home. Annette and May didn't have time to hide their wounds, so they just braced themselves for the incoming panic attacks.

"The hell? What happened?" I asked, worried to death about why my sister and girlfriend were bandaged and wounded. I sat down next to the two and looked closer at their wounds and wondered what sort of monster could've hurt them.

"Good luck finding the little bastard, she ran off once I took action." Annette boasted with a victorious smile.

"You two, what am I gonna do with you..." I sighed, holding the both of them close to me. I spent the rest of my time comforting the girls while Satomi and Rena cooked. Kana finally returned home with extra cooking ingredients and even she was shocked that May and Annette were hurt.

"Hey, didn't you go with Melody and Stella?" I asked Kana, who seemed gloomier than normal today.

"Yeah. Stella also got hurt but Melody's being escorted to her lessons today and should be back shortly."

"What the hell's up with all my family being injured? Damn man..." I felt a little remorse for not being there to protect them out. It worried me so much to see them all injured because of this stupid world. If this was the normal realm, none of us would ever be injured...

"Will, bro, wake up." Annette snapped her fingers close to my face. I shook my head and looked at her. Her and May gave me this look of concern that melted my heart.

"Don't worry about us, it's not like we'll never heal. Let's just all relax and enjoy our supper, okay?" May said with a calm and gentle voice. She reached over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and I couldn't help but smile. I still worried a little about Stella. She was alone in the hospital, hurt and scared probably. I wanted to go out there and keep her company for the night but May and Annette forbidden it. I shook my head and started telling them about my run in with Remilia and her mansion residents. I didn't bother trying to hide what I was up to cause I'm sure everyone could guess. Annette, despite her painful injuries, gave me a hard punch in the arm for leaving without her or anyone for that manner. I knew that she understood though. I had my reasons.

"You WHAT?" Annette screamed when I told her about signing up the lazy people for working at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Chill, sis, they're really nice people. A little intimidating, but honestly nice people." I gave a quick smile and a calming gesture.

"But Grace already has a job, Stella's injured, and so is Annette, how are we going to fill in the other spots?" May asked. I wasn't even going to dare to sign up my little angel here for working, especially after her injuries.

"We'll do it!" Rena announced, not even bothering to hear what Satomi had to say. Satomi shook her head and shrugged, not even bothering to argue with Rena. The two spent most of their day lounging about the house while Kana did all the work. Rena and Satomi offered and offered again to help, but Kana simply refused and gave them a sweet smile that kept them from forcing their way into working.

"Hey people, I'm back. So what's...holy crap what happened to you two?" Grace widened her eyes at Annette and May's wounds.

"Yeah, we got into a barroom brawl with some gnomes, they really put us in our place." Annette jested. Grace rolled her eyes and sighed. I could tell she wasn't in the mood for jokes right now. Her facial expression said it all.

"So how was work?" May asked, patting the soft pillow next to her she saved for Grace. Grace sat down and held her head in her hands, then sighed deeply.

"That bad, huh?" Annette asked, leaning back on the white wall behind her.

"I hate working as a waitress, so frustrating..." Grace sighed again.

"Look at it this way, you can meet alot of interesting people with your job." Satomi piped up.

"Please," Grace poked her head up with widened eyes, "Lead them to the bar! All I've dealt with today is deadbeats and assholes."

"Well, how much are you getting paid?" Rena asked while cutting up some carrots and celery.

"Let's see, it's 350 yen an hour so..." Grace's eyes looked up while she calculated, "It's like three dollars and fifty cents in our money."

"That's not too bad. Do you get any benefits from working there?" asked Rena, poking her head over her shoulder.

"Bene-what?" Grace asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Like do you get any bonuses from working there?" Annette cleared up.

"Yeah, they give me a discount for the food."

"See? It's not all that bad." Rena gave Grace a cheery smile and brought her spirits up. While they talked, I looked around for where Corey and Luna went. Apparently according to Rena, the two were sleeping. I'm guessing that they had a tiring day. Well, at least with us all working at the mansion, he'll have an easier time fishing. He can just fish from the shores of the Mansion. It IS on an island after all.

"Wait a second...where's Aurora?" I asked in the middle of a conversation between Grace and Annette on who has the most money here in our family.

"She's still at the school I think...I wonder what all she's doing in there?" Rena wondered aloud while she stewed some broth in the cauldron.

"Guess I'm gonna go find out..." I got up from my comfy seat on the floor and walked out abruptly. May just shook her head and Annette laughed.

"That's Will for ya, has to keep an eye on everyone." She emphasized "everyone" to the point that people would think that I'm a stalker. I walked down the street with some people still giving me occasional looks. Being the outsider apparently is frowned upon here, even though it shouldn't be. I wonder how many other people have been just dropped off here in this fantasy novel turned reality. Sure it was a lovely place with kind people, but what about the people that still had families and friends on the outside world? I dunno, best not to care. I was at the schoolhouse and since it was still daytime out, there's likely still classes going on. The two floor schoolhouse was quite a marvel considering the limited utilities these people had to work with. There was alot of sounds and voices coming from some of the rooms, but I think some of those were just people hanging out. I couldn't hear any prominant voice or voice louder than the others, so I think it was just the students. I couldn't see past the sliding doors, thanks to their thick sheets of...paper I guess it was. It looked like paper but I could be wrong.

"Ah, hello, Will-san. Is there something I can help you with?" A feminine voice asked from behind me. I hadn't even noticed that I passed by the principal's office which apparently was occupied by none other than Keine.

"Hi Keine, I was wondering if you've seen my friend's little sister, Aurora."

"Oh, yes the busy one with the long blonde hair?"

"Yup, that's Aurora."

"Okay, right this way." Keine led me down a few corridors and to a room that seemed just like all the others except it had fewer windows.

"Right through here. Mind if I ask what she's working on? She wouldn't tell me anything." Keine asked with a hushed voice.

"Last I recall, she was expirimenting on sake or some alcoholic beverage with a similar name." I accidentally pronounced it according to English protocol. At first Keine seemed confused but then she nodded once she figured out what I really meant.

"What's there to expiriment on with Gensokyo's favorite alcohol?" She asked.

"As Reformed, we can't consume alchohol of any kind. It messes with our genetic structures just a little bit." I educated somebody I never thought I'd be educating.

"That's interesting. Heh, do you think maybe I could ask your friend in there if she'll teach the class about the outside world a little?" Keine asked with a gentle smile. We laughed together at the remark.

"You definitely don't want her to teach, trust me. It's a kind gesture though."

Keine cocked her head to the side in confusion and asked why not.

"She's...like a computer and is kinda hard to understand sometime."

"A computer? What's that?"

I gave a sheepish smile and said, "Nevermind. She's just extremely scientific and would likely have the students lost in a couple sentences. If you want anyone to teach about the outside world, my girlfriend would be the best bet."

"Let's see," Keine's eyes looked up as she thought to herself, "That would be May-san right?"

"Yup, that's my little angel. I'll send her down tomorrow for ya." I opened the door to the room Aurora was in and gave my goodbyes to the kindly principal.

"Hey, think you've been here long enough?" I asked to Aurora, shutting the door behind me.

"Normally," She let out a big sigh, "I'd be well and done here. But I think I might've bypassed the genetic warping material of this alcoholic beverage. It seems to react well to common salt and a small tidbit of herbal supplement. I think that..." Aurora stopped for a moment to mix another compound together. Once she was finished she continued to say, "I think that this discovery could help us enjoy these common beverages without the ill effects it has on our genetic structuring."

"Damn Aurora, do you breathe at all when you speak?" I thought to myself, examining the multi-colored vials she had laid about on her miniature chemical lab.

"And your reason for performing these expiriments?"

"Will, I have literally nothing to do here as far as productivity goes." She shot back while mixing together a pair of chemical compounds.

"Well, good news for you then, you can help me with tending to a nearby mansion. I think you might make good friends with their librarian." I commented while tossing a bottle of sake in my hands.

"Understood. I'll report there tomorrow."

"You don't even know where it's at." I gave her an aggravated look. She always takes on tasks she knows nothing about, she could be walking into a death trap for all she knows!

"Corey can show me the way." She quickly replied.

I shrugged and said, "Whatever works for you. Please try to come home soon okay?"

"I'm almost done here."

"Soon? Please?" I asked again, trying to lure her in by giving her puppy-dog eyes.

She sighed and said, "I suppose I could come home within the hour."

I gave her a big hug and bid her farewell. She gave me brief smile and waved goodbye as she returned to work.

"Will, you're lucky I love ya like your my other half..." Aurora sighed to herself. Little did she know, I could still hear her.

"Love ya too..." I thought to myself with a warm smile. I walked out of the schoolhouse and went back into the crowd of people still wandering around the marketplace. If I knew where the hospital was, I'd visit Stella, but I don't know where that is. That's when it hit me...

"Nighttime...the stars will be out soon..." I whispered to myself. I went home but I waited patiently for night. Or, more specifically, the stars to come out. Melody returned home finally and told us of this wonderful and nice girl she met that escorted her home. I was glad to see that she was unharmed, especially since she was travelling with someone she only met not even two days ago. Once everyone was asleep, I snuck out of the house and ventured to the marketplace and looked around. Sure enough, I was able to catch a glimpse of Stella's golden dress. As I neared her, I memorized the path so that if I need to know where the hospital is, I can find it. I walked up to the second floor and asked around for her room number.

"Yeah, it's down the hall and it's room eighteen. Why, you family of hers or are you another pervert that wants to watch a pretty girl sleep?" The wisecracking doctor asked. He looked professional, given his glasses, short black hair, and stiff stature, but from the way he sounded, he could've easily been related to Chris...

"Uh, she's my sister..."

"Oh, okay, gotcha. Don't blame you man, just make sure the doors shut tight, m'kay?"

I rolled my eyes then bid him farewell.

"Ketsueki Kyuseishu, huh?" I read off his nametag that I remembered, "I like you already..."

I opened the door and was greeted by a hot summer's night breeze coming from an opened window. I shut the door tightly behind me, then climbed out the window and up to the roof.

"Hey there, heard you got a little bent up." I said, sitting next to Stella. I startled her when I spoke, but once she realized who it was, she calmed down.

"Ye...yeah. Sorry if I worried you..." She said with a dreamy sigh as she stared back up at the stars. They glistened and gleamed even in the presence of the full moon.

"Well of course I was worried, but I'm glad to see you're okay. Miss me much?"

"Of course!" She gave a girlish giggle, "it'd be horrible not to miss my favorite brother."

"Then I'm sure you wont mind if your favorite brother shares the night with ya? I'm sure you've been pretty lonely." I scooted closer to her, and she let her head rest on my shoulder. Her golden hair fell onto my back now, and it kinda tickled, but I didn't mind. She's been through alot, as have I and all my other family and friends.

"I've been asleep most of the time, but yes, I could use some company."

We spent a long while up on the roof with her, letting her relax for a while. I even saw my favorite crow tengu zooming around like usual. Luckily Aya didn't see us, or otherwise she'd be getting the wrong ideas put on print and that is something I could really do without. It truly was a peaceful night out though, something I really appreciated at this tense part of life...

"Hey, am I the only one that sees some kind of city on the moon? Or have I finally lost it?" I asked, eyeballing the distant full moon that glowed in the night sky.

"I noticed that too...I wonder if that really is a city?"


	7. Chapter 7: New Friends, New Chaos

Chapter 7: New Faces, New Friends, New Chaos.

After escorting Stella back inside her hospital room, I gave her a quick hug and took off for the apartments. I plopped on my rigid but comfortable futon and passed out, even if it was only for a few hours. It was quite late when we returned, but without a working clock of any kind, I couldn't be certain what time it was. I wasn't about to wake up Aurora just to check her digital clock, science forbid I wake her up early. She probably was more of passed out than sleeping really. Once morning arrived, I felt more like a zombie that a ghost. Even Kana could see that I was paler than usual.

"Feelin' a little sleepy, rock star?" May asked with a grin as she passed me the newest issue of Bunbunmaru newspaper. As I'd expected, it had that picture of Corey and I flying yesterday plastered on it along with the title reading, "Diplomacy of the Newcomers!"

I briefly read over the articles and was half-pleased and half-annoyed with the thing. I liked how she explained my actions but she twisted it around to make it sound like Remilia was nearly ready to devour me whole. That and she somewhat implied that I was "flirting" with Remilia, which I wasn't. Of course, May clearly understood that I had no intentions of dating her, I was only there to conduct diplomacy.

Annette and Melody woke up and sat at the table with the rest of us. Rena and Satomi were still asleep, along with Corey who again was snoring loudly. Or was that Luna I was hearing? Probably Luna, she snores louder than anybody here. I guess Grace was already at work at the Drunken Oni, and Aurora was getting herself ready for work at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"You sure you feel up to working at the mansion today?" I asked Annette who still wore her bandages on her hip. Kana offered to help her mend her dress, but Annette refused, saying it's not gonna kill her to wear her battle-wounds proudly.

Annette gave me a dismayed glance and said, "Will, you really think one little cut's gonna keep me down? Screw that, I say give me the toughest job you got!"

She was up and at-'em this morning, which was good. Everyone needed to be prepared to work their hardest today. The better the impression we make there, the more allies we'll have at the end of this venture. We had already decided that we're to leave Gensokyo, taken that we even can, somewhere in late fall or late winter. With our real home, Landscape, still in shambles and all our families dead, we have nowhere better to be. Besides, who doesn't love a little adventure?

"Kana, would you be kind enough to get me some tea?" Melody asked with over-politeness still in her voice like she was wide awake. She never was a morning person, if she doesn't have something to drink when she wakes up, she'll plop back to sleep in minutes. I don't blame her though, I think she gets it from either me or Corey. Both of us hate being woken up early.

"Of course, give me a moment, Melody-san." Kana began working on tea for not just her, but for everyone, taking the kind initiative to supply us all with a morning drink that none of us felt like getting up and making.

Melody mustered up a gentle smile and said, "Please, just call me Melody."

"You sure you don't want a back-rub or something to make up for taking advantage of you? This work's gotta be exhausting, you're making me tired just watching..." Annette commented, honest but a little blunt as usual.

Kana chuckled, looked over her shoulder, and said, "Don't worry so much, you all are doing me a favor by keeping me company."

"Whatever floats your boat..." Annette leaned back and rested her feet on the coffee table, closing her eyes and relaxing.

"You're in an awful good mood today, sister." said Melody. She waited for a while, but got no response, save for when Annette started snoring. Annette was officially out like a light.

"Want me to warm her up a little?" May asked with a mischivious smile. I nodded and scooted a little further away from Annette. That way, if she wakes up swinging her fists, I wont get caught in the mess. May pointed her finger at Annette and began spiraling it around her head. In a few second, Annette started sweating and wincing in her sleep. She woke up looking around frantically, wiping the sweat off her face. May hid her finger and nodding her head innocently, trying to keep laughing. I had trouble myself keeping a straight face.

"The hell? Someone turn up the heat or something?" asked a confused Annette. Melody and Kana giggled while May and I just shrugged. Finally Aurora joined us with Luna following close behind.

"Morning Luna." I said, scooting over and patting the seat for her to come and sit next to me. She obediently sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. Aurora sat down next to Melody and was, again, tapping away on her holograms.

"Morning, brother..." Luna said with a weary voice. I didn't dare comfort her though, if she falls asleep on my shoulder, she'll drool all over me.

"So did you ever figure out what that sake stuff would do?" May asked Aurora as she sipped the tea that Kana finished. Just a few sips of the minty tea woke all of us up pretty quickly. We all thanked Kana for the tea and she smiled warmly. For a poltergeist, she was such a sweet and kind person. But at times, I wonder how different things would be if we got stuck with someone else like Keine or Marisa? I didn't dare question Kana's real reasons for staying here though, I really don't want to go back to helping with cleaning and such.

"If my calculations are correct, I believe I have been able to uncover a way to...defy the effects alcohol can have on our genes." Aurora stated without so much as glancing away from her holographic displays.

"Really? How so?" Melody didn't know what she was asking for. When Aurora explains, she doesn't just explain, she lectures and lectures about science and logistics. Oh well, it's not like we're going to be here long enough for Aurora to start going into DNA theories and occasional conspiracy theories that somehow get mixed into her speeches. Aurora pulled up a large display and began showing Melody all the different how's and what's of alcohol and it's effects on Reformed genes. Occasionally I had to shake Luna awake, but she really didn't want to stay awake. Not even some hot tea would keep her up. Hopefully the trip to the mansion will get her woken up a little better.

Suddenly, the door opened and slammed shut, a warm breeze making it's way to the kitchen where we all were.

"Hey guys! How's it going?" Marisa asked, wearing a cheery grin that either meant that she was up to no good or she was actually happy to see us for once. My money was on the first one, but with her unpredictable personality, who knows what she's up to?

Alot of us just grunted and shrugged, Kana being the only that gave and honest answer.

"So, which one of you do you think I can borrow for the day?" Marisa asked bluntly.

"Uh...I don't recall any of us stating that we could be loaned out like a video game..." I noted with confusion.

"Video game? Eh, not gonna ask. Anyways, I need someone to help Reimu and I clean up the mess at her shrine." Marisa quickly spoke, clearly in a hurry.

"Mess at the shrine? What happened?" May asked.

"Somebody came by while she was out youkai hunting with me and completely trashed the place. You've got alotta people, think you can lend an ordinary witch a hand?"

"You really think we're gonna say no? You can borrow Corey for the day, he's just gonna go fishing today and we really are good on fish for now. Just try not to break him." I said, rolling my eyes.

Marisa turned around and said, "No promises!"

She walked to Corey's room he shared with Rena, Corey sleeping soundly on his futon. I perked my ears up and listened in. There was a loud noise followed by multiple swearings from Corey. My guess was that he just got shot with danmaku from Marisa.

"The hell? Whatchu want from meh?" Corey slurred his words together while his brain slowly turned on.

"Your mine for the day! Come on, we gotta go!" Marisa shouted at him.

"I ain't going nowhere! I haven't even gone to the damn bathroom yet!" Corey complained.

"You can go to the bathroom later! Let's-a-go!"

"No!" Corey remained adamant about staying here until he was damn good and ready to leave.

"No, not the hakkero...not that!" Corey's next words were inaudible, but it sounds like Corey just got his ass handed to him by a girl. Next I saw, Corey was being dragged down the hall by his legs by Marisa.

"Help, I'm being held against my will!" Corey shouted into the kitchen.

"Come on, warhound, we've got cleaning to do!" Marisa heard nothing of Corey's pleads for help. I wasn't gonna help him, without him around that just means one less mouth to take care of.

"Think we should help him?" May asked in between laughing.

"Nah, it ain't like he's never been held in captivity before, his girlfriend's practically got him whipped, I'm sure he's used to being under lockdown." Annette gave a brutal smile while she slowly woke up. After a while of idle chit-chat while we woke up, we were ready for our voyage to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Annette was originally going to carry us all one by one to the mansion, but forgot that she didn't know the way there. We ended up taking the roads leading down to the Misty Lake. It was bizarrely peaceful out today, not even the birds were chirping in the dense woodlands. Not a single youkai attacked on our way there. I wonder what's got them spooked...

"Wow, that's quite a mansion..." May gasped, as did the others that had yet to see the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"It's even better from the inside." I added.

"Alright people, looks like I'll be your ferrywoman today. If you'll all form a single-file line, I'll get you all over there eventually." Annette joked, everyone obeying much to her surprise. And just as she wanted, we were ferried over to the shores. Hong was at the gates, sleeping again until I woke her up.

"Ah, so you did come back. Here to start *yawn* work?" Hong asked whilst leaning on the barrier around the mansions front yard. I looked up at the balcony where Remilia and I were at yesterday. Nobody was up there today, but I could see a new figure hanging around the window of the library. She had long red hair like Rena and little bat wings poking out of her head, along with out of her back. Her dress implied that she worked there, but I wasn't placing any bets just yet.

"Yup, Annette here's even offered to keep you company out here." I introduced Annette to the Chinese girl. At least...I think she was Chinese. Wasn't about to ask, I really could do without any colorful barrages being aimed at my face this morning.

Hong smiled as she observed the intimidating stature of Annette.

"Welcome aboard, gatekeeper." Hong held out her hand. Annette happily shook her hand and took place at the other side of the gate. Hong let us inside and closed the gates behind us. Melody had to stop to admire the garden they had in the front yard before we entered the mansion. None of us had ever seen such unique flowers before, some of them even changed color depending on how far we were from it. Some of them even looked like they were made of crystal! Once we finished flower-watching, we entered the mansion that still smelled of tea and sugar. And...blood? I think I could smell a hint of blood. I wonder if Sakuya spikes her mistress's tea?

"Will, is the vampire going to suck my blood? I don't wanna be a vampire..." Luna childishly hid behind me.

I gently eased her out of hiding and said, "Don't worry at all sister, Remilia is very kind and sweet, she wont do that sort of thing." I kinda doubted my own words. I hadn't quite placed ALL my trust in Remilia yet, but I had enough trust to bring my friends and family to here.

"Ah, so these are your sisters I take it? Didn't you say there was five though?" Remilia came out from one of the hallways leading further into the mansion. Remilia eyeballed each of my sisters and Aurora closely, probably also observing their fates as well. I couldn't tell what she was doing, but she seemed...almost fascinated by them.

"The fifth one's already taken up helping Hong keep awake. Anyways, these are all my sisters, save for Aurora and May. They're replacements for the absent sisters that couldn't come." I introduced my sisters and Aurora one by one, telling Remilia of their personalities and traits so she could better assign them jobs that they would be able to do.

"Aurora, how about you go help out Patchouli in the library. I think a smart girl like you will get along great with my local bookworm. Sakuya~." Remilia chimed into the hallway, summoning her maid. Sakuya was standing before us that very instant, teleporting using her time manipulation.

"Yes, mistress?"

"Could you show young Aurora here to the library? I think Patchy could use someone to keep her company." Remilia asked kindly to her maid. Aurora nodded and stepped forward to show who Remilia was talking about. Sakuya took Aurora by the arm and disappeared. Literally. They were gone in the blink of an eye.

"So your the tidy one, eh?" Remilia asked, standing before Melody with an assuming grin.

"I do enjoy a clean house, yes." Melody asked, intimidated by the vampire. I could hear it in her voice that she was scared a little, but I couldn't blame her. Hopefully she'll warm up soon.

"Good, you can help with a little cleaning work. Shouldn't be hard, right?"

"Of course not, as you wish Mrs. Scarlet." said a stiff and worried Melody.

Remilia laughed and said, "You sound like my maid already! I think you and her are going to work well together. Sakuya~. I have another helper for you~!" Remilia shouted aimlessly down the hallway. Again, Sakuya appeared instantaneously in front of us, even startling May who already seemed fidgety. I held onto May's hand and she calmed down to an extent, but still seemed cautious, as was Melody.

"Good, it will be so delightful to have someone around to help tend to the house." Sakuya flashed a smile that seemed rather warm for someone with such a brutal talent and graceful gift. It felt kind of refreshing to see how easy-going a fellow human could be around Remilia. That helped show that this vampire can be befriended, something I'm so grateful for.

"I'm glad you think so, Sakuya. Do take good care of her, m'kay?"

"As you wish, mistress."

And just like that, the next of my sisters vanished.

"If you want, I can help cook. I love cooking." May added, trying to keep at least a cheerful facade while she was here.

"And I love good food, so I trust you'll aim to please?"

"Of course!"

Remilia smiled and had Sakuya take her to the kitchen. My heart sank a little to see my lover disappear so quickly, but I trust that she'll take good care of herself in there.

"Luna, it's okay, quit shivering okay?" I held onto Luna's hand in an attempt to calm her down.

"Yes, there's no need to be afraid. I've no reason to harm you, especially since you're here to help." Remilia added.

"You made friends with that Yami girl didn't you?" I asked. Luna nodded silently.

"Wait...Yami as in Yami Odayakana?" Remilia asked, nearing my face now with hers. I was a little disturbed to see her face so close to me, and in my mind I thought I had said something wrong, but I don't think that was the case.

Luna nodded to Remilia quietly.

"I know Yami, she's the one that designed my dress for me." Remilia said, showing off her pink dress she wore yesterday too. Now that I recall, I think she wore that dress at the youkai party that one night too.

"You're friends with Yami?" Luna asked, finally speaking for once.

"Yes, occasionally she comes around to help mend torn clothes and such. Her and I go back a ways." Remilia added, not even noticing that she had just gained Luna's trust with that last sentence.

"O-okay. So what do you w-want me to do for you, Remilia?" Luna asked with an innocent and shakey voice.

"If I recall properly, you have a sister, a younger one as well. Considering Luna's childlike demeanor, I had considered her a prime candidate for keeping your younger flesh and blood entertained while us adults handled more orderly business." I sent through telepathy so I didn't hurt Luna's feelings. I really hated referring to her as childish, even though she was, but it was the only way I could think of to describe her properly.

"I don't know about that. My sister can be...unstable sometimes and I won't be responsible for your sister getting harmed." Remilia had to speak aloud, but luckily Luna had no idea what we were talking about.

"From what I've heard from certain resources, the two will fit well together. Besides, I'm sure Flandre gets quite lonely being by herself all the time. You two are surprisingly similar to what Luna and I are. Luna obeys me regardless of what she wants to do and retains a child-like demeanor that makes her able to work in some areas that I can't."

"I suppose I can make an exception this time. We'll see how today goes. Just don't, and I repeat: DONT, let my sister out of the mansion, or there WILL be hell to pay. Understood?" Remilia pointed a rigid finger at Luna, making sure she heard and heard well.

"Play nice and listen to what Remilia tells you okay? Don't worry, I'll check up on you occasionally, just please play nice, okay sis?" I asked as she cowered behind me.

"O-o-okay..." She said shakily. She seemed even more frightened now than before. Remilia shouted for her maid and told her the situation. Sakuya seemed hesitant to bring Luna to Flandre, but she eventually offered Luna her hand.

"Don't be scared and follow the nice maid to meet your new playmate. Go on, don't be scared." I eased her out of hiding slowly. Once Luna had a hold of Sakuya's hand, the two disappeared into nothingness, or rather, into the bowels of the mansion.

"Sorry if I scared her, I just want to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Remilia apologized, motioning for me to follow her.

"It's fine, Luna's far from stupid. She may be childish but she's far from stupid. Luna's also very obedient to not only me, but to others as well, meaning her chances of screwing this up are slim to none." I smiled to Remilia as we made our way to the balcony.

"That's good to hear. If my sister wasn't so chaotic and unpredictable, I'd be more open to letting others see her..." Remilia trailed off her sentence and soon found herself muttering bits and pieces of sentences.

"Perhaps keeping her cooped up and lonely is what's keeping her from her full recovery. I can only hope that maybe a new face around will help bring her closer to maturity." I added, hoping I wasn't disturbing her soliloque.

"Maybe. At this point, I'm at wits end trying to figure out what will help her grow up a little faster. At least so she wont be such a hassle to the others around here." Remilia sat down at the same spot she was at yesterday, as did I. Again it was scorching hot outside, making me peel off my hoodie to let my body cool down. Remilia didn't seem to mind though.

"Not even the satori can diagnose her warped mind." added Remilia.

"Satori?" I asked, unfamiliar with that name. I know a Satomi, but not any Satori.

"Ah, that's right, you're not from around here are you? Then let me explain..." Remilia began educating me about the underground residents and their influences on this world. In return, I occasionally would talk to her about the happenings of the outside world, as she wanted from me specifically. She was very curious about the outside world, and couldn't wait to hear more about it. In fact, she even seemed frustrated when I'd stop talking about it to ask her about Gensokyo. Just like yesterday, we enjoyed each other's company with basic banter and chit-chat, with a little tea on the side. I had to check my tea though, just to see if it really WAS spiked with blood. It didn't have any strange tastes, but I could see a hint of red in Remilia's tea. Kinda freaked me out a little...

* * *

In the library...

* * *

"Quite the admirable collection you have here." Aurora said as she walked towards Patchouli's small table she had set up in the lobby of the library. Patchouli looked up and cocked her head to side in confusion.

"Who might you be?" She asked, closing her book and laying it on her lap.

"I'm Aurora, your additional library assistant, as administered by your mistress, Remilia." Aurora gave no bow to the girl, but rather a simple nod of her head. After that, she went back to admiring her collection, taking a look at the many books in the massive library.

"I see. Well, I mainly have my library assistant, Koakuma take care of the place, but extra help is always welcome. Please, come have a seat." Patchouli offered a chair close to her. Aurora gladly accepted, putting up her holograms to begin charting the library.

"What magic are you using there? I've never seen anything like that before..." Patcholli pointed to Aurora's beloved holograms.

"Far from magic, friend, this is pure technology crafted from my very body." Aurora educated her, showing how she can "hide" her hologram projector by melding it into her skin.

"Mukyu~! Isn't that painful?" Patchouli asked.

"Nope. I can make larger equipment too..." Aurora flashed her battleaxes, flamethrower, and shock cannon, in that order.

"Are you sure that's not any kind of metal-based magic?" Patchouli asked, looking at her own hands with longing wishes to control that kind of vicious power. Indeed, Aurora was a powerhouse like her brother, but she was much more controlled and concentrated with her abilities as compared to her brothers brutish approach.

"Not at all, I have no idea in the slightest as to how to perform "magic"." Aurora said whilst pulling her long hair out of her face.

Patchouli gave a quickly fading smile and said, "Perhaps there's much we can learn from each other..."

"Indeed, my new asthmatic friend."

"Wait, how do you know I have asthma?"

"I had scanned your every detail moments after seeing you. Approximately 147 years in age, height is five foot seven, weight approximately 179 pounds and ten ounces, need I go any further?" Aurora gave a sly smile as she presented a hologram that listed all the information she gathered in the brief few moments of visual contact with the little purple-haired library of information.

"Fascinating..."

"So, do tell about this magic you speak of. I wont doubt it's existance in this realm, so I think it only right for me to...erm...dabble in it." said Aurora.

Patchouli gave a chuckle and said, "Let's break in the new assistant then, there should be a simple elemental spellbook around here somewhere. If you can locate it, bring it here and we'll begin."

"Consider it done."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the kitchen...

* * *

"Why are they still staring at me like I'm some freak? They're the ones with micro-bodies and wings..." May silently complained to herself while she cooked meals with the fairy maids that seemed to be doing little to nothing in the kitchen. May observed the cookbooks that Sakuya left for her. The recipies were strange, but nothing she couldn't handle. She was also cooking using her extra set of hands made of flames. The smells that she made while cooking were nauseating to her, but once her recipies were finished, they usually smelled alot better. Now her main problem was what to do when she was done cooking. Every now and again she'd call in Sakuya and the head maid would handle the dishes as needed by the many residents, but usually she'd just blink in and out of sight, leaving May no closer to knowing where exactly her dishes were going. May couldn't care less about where they were going, but she just hoped her food was actually being eaten.

May caught a break for a little while where nobody needed anything cooked. She sat atop one of the counters and rested while the fairy maids did the same thing.

"I take it you all don't work too much here..." May commented to a lazy maid resting on the same counter as her. The fairy just looked up at her and shook her head.

"There's alot of you around, so I guess that kinda makes up for it." said May, hoping the fairy would eventually form words instead of easy-going gestures. The fairy just shrugged and sighed, then fell asleep.

"Wish my life was that easy-going..." May sighed. Almost on cue, another order came up for May to fill out.

"Well...back to work..."

And in a dusty old backroom leading from a foyer...

Melody gave a loud sneeze that almost knocked over a nearby candle, one of the few keeping the place lit up. With the building lacking any real windows, Melody was quite literally left in the dark in most cases. She didn't mind though, she kind of enjoyed checking out the mansion's vast interior and occasionally chatting with Sakuya while they worked.

"So the inside really is alot larger than what it looks?"

"Yes, the exterior is more or less an illusion compared to the actual inside." Sakuya educated Melody while they both swept up a dirt-covered room. For once, Sakuya remained in the local time-stream, claiming that if time was stopped while she dusted, none of the dust would be moved.

"That's rather interesting. How do you keep from getting lost in here?" Melody asked while reaching high up to a cobweb filled corner of the room. The dust and webbing scattered everywhere made Melody cough and sneeze constantly, but it wasn't so bad as to have to quit working.

"I've been through these halls so many times that I know the whole layout of the mansion. As far as people getting lost though, that's a different story. Even that annoying witch gets lost in here occasionally. I still don't understand why I lead her to the library instead of escorting her out, all she does is borrow books and occasionally aggravate Patchy."

"Maybe it's just because you're a nice person." Melody flashed a warm smile, Sakuya glad to hear a compliment from someone other than her mistress.

"That and sometimes it's fun to watch Patchouli expel Marisa in her own...unique way." Sakuya gave a slightly demented chuckle. Melody had no comment as far as that went, but just giggled alongside Sakuya.

"This place really does remind me of my home with Will..." Melody sighed as she finished cleaning the last of the room. Sakuya stopped time, taking Melody by the arm so she wouldn't be stopped as well. The two walked further down the halls and into a guest bedroom that also needed dusting off.

"How is it there where you live?" Sakuya asked gently.

"It's nice, it can be hectic at times with all the different personalities of my sisters, but I love it and couldn't ask for a better family to take care of me." Melody said sincerely, humming a small tune to herself occasionally in between their long walks up and down the mansion halls.

"Sounds alot like how it is here." Sakuya finally responded after a brief space-out.

"Well, as Corey's said before, "better to be surrounded by nuts then kept in a shell"." Melody and Sakuya shared a laugh and continued working on the many rooms of the mansion, sweeping and cleaning and occasionally talking in between jobs. Melody lightened up alot since she started talking to the gentle and easy-going head maid. They learned much about each other's life and work, leading to a quickly formed but sturdy friendship.

* * *

And somewhere deep in the basement of the mansion...

* * *

"He-hello? Anyone here?" Luna asked, creeped out by the unsettling atmosphere of the dark basement. She could hear shifting and movements occasionally, seeing shadows dance around while watching and observing her. Luna's legs barely wanted to keep moving down the polished wooden floor. She'd startle herself at times when she walked into a cobweb or tripped over a wooden box. At the end of a long hallway, Luna found herself in a child's bedroom. There was a box of toys, some bookshelves, and a pink bed with a teddy bear on it. Luna frantically looked around for where her new playmate was. In the recesses of her mind, Luna was still deathly frightened about interacting with vampires, but what she didn't consider was that the vampires likely couldn't even properly drink her blood. The blood of the Reformed was warped so much that it wouldn't taste anything like normal human's blood.

And while Luna's back was turned, Flandre snuck up behind her and gave a big bear hug that nearly made Luna's heart stop.

"Gotcha!" Flandre playfully shouted as she let go. Luna, frightened to the point of nearly passing out, slowly managed to form words as she sat down on the floor next to the bed.

"Wh-wh-what's y-your name?" Luna still struggled to make a comprehensable sentence.

"I'm Flandre! Who are you?"

"My name's Luna, I was sent down here by your big sister, Remilia." Luna slowly calmed down.

"Remi-sama sent you down here? You must be my new playmate then! Yay!" Remilia gave Luna a big bear hug, playful as ever. Luna wasn't as hesitant now, but was still a little wary about the young vampire.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you Flandre." Luna gave a crooked smile that was hard to form.

"Nice to meet you too! So, how about we play a game or something? How about tag?"

"That sounds fun, but your it!" Luna tagged Flandre and ran off down the hallways with Flandre chasing her. Now that Luna made it clear that she wasn't to be devoured or anything, the two got along well. Luna even showed Flandre her powers over water, while Flandre showed Luna the power of fire. They were like yin and yang, two different elementalists, but personalities that could never conflict.

* * *

Back outside at the gates...

* * *

"So how long have you all been here now?" Hong asked Annette, somehow keeping awake now that she had someone to keep her company.

"Been a week I think." Annette bluntly replied while practically sunbathing on the top of the wall.

"I see, so how are you liking it here in Gensokyo?"

"Eh, I can't complain. People are nice, villages are pleasant, and there's plenty of youkai out in these areas, ripe for the ass-kicking."

Hong laughed and said, "That's what I like to hear! Nothing's more fun than taking out that stray annoying fairy or wolf youkai that gets too close."

"Damn right! Now I really wanna fight!" Annette peered down from her perch on the wall, looking to Hong with a mischivious grin.

"You up for a little friendly spar?" Hong asked with a cheery grin.

"Hell yeah, let's do this!" Annette jumped down, preparing her Spell Cards.

"Three cards work for you?" Hong asked, pulling her own Cards out.

"Good for me! Let's rumble!"

And back at the balcony...

"Oh no...looks like Annette's picking a fight with Hong..." I sighed, keeping my eyes away from the duel. The two were hard at it, tossing barrages of bullets around like they were nothing.

"Don't worry, your sister's in no danger at all. Hong's just having a friendly duel with her, I can tell from here." Remilia turned around in her chair to watch the fight. I felt like I was at a coliseum, watching a pair of gladiators duel to the death. It was kinda fun to just watch instead of actually fight. The both of us sipped on our tea and watched the two duel outside and occasionally catch glimpses of fairies gliding over the water near the shores. The sun was shining bright today, almost too bright. It was still hot as ever but at least the trees weren't spontaneously combusting like it did at the shrine that one day. Speaking of the shrine, I wonder what Corey was doing off at the shrine...

* * *

At the Shrine...

* * *

"Reimu? Where do you want your tea stored at?" asked Corey as he peered his head into the shrine. It took Corey, Marisa, Reimu, and even Alice to work on the shrine and it wasn't even hardly half-way done. Whatever tore her house up clearly had an appetite for destruction. There was broken walls, futons shredded to ribbons and even a couple gaping holes in the roof. Alice and Reimu worked on the inside while Marisa and Corey worked on cleaning up the mess outside. Almost everything from Reimu's storehouse was scattered on the courtyard like there was a really unorganized yard sale.

"Oh, just set it on the kitchen counter, I'll have Alice put it away properly later." Reimu shouted back from somewhere in the depths of the shrine. Corey shrugged and set a small wooden box on the kitchen counter. He walked back outside into the scorching hot gaze of the summer sun and returned to helping Marisa with returning the storehouse back to normal.

"Woah, what happened here?" asked Aya, swooping in from the skies.

"We're having a garage sale. Reimu forgot to price the stuff though." said Marisa, wearing a childish grin as she shipped a small stage set-up back to the storehouse. They were close to finished, but once they were done with the "easy" part, they had to go to some store outside the village to try and find something to patch up the holes in the ceiling. Corey couldn't remember the name of it, whereas Marisa could never forget it. The Kourindou, the only place in Gensokyo where stuff from the outside world goes, well, besides Reimu's shrine.

"Yeah, just feel free to take a look around while we sneak off the stuff you buy back into the storehouse." Corey went along with Marisa's joke.

"Yeah right, what really happened here? This looks like a good scoop!" Aya was already taking snapshots with her camera, occasionally floating up into the air for a better view of the mess.

"Not sure really, Reimu and I came back from hunting youkai and found her place completely trashed." replied Marisa. Corey came back for another load of random boxes and junk, shipping them off with few words along the way. Aya, after several pictures more, flew into the shrine where Alice and Reimu worked.

"Is the ever a day when she isn't around?" Corey whispered to Marisa. Marisa gave a giggle and rolled her eyes.

"If it weren't for her being up our rear ends day after day, we'd probably be twice as bored as we are now. Worst part is that she knows it."

"It's that bad, huh?" Corey asked, looking over his shoulder to Aya. She still stood at the doorway, looking for signs of life, meanwhile, Corey tripped over a box of supplies while he wasn't paying attention and spilled the contents across the ground. While he was picking up the boxes contents, he noticed Marisa trying to sneak off with a stack of books from the storehouse.

"Marisa, put 'em back!" Corey scolded, pointing a finger towards the storehouse. Marisa gave a disappointed sigh and returned the books back.

"Is she trying to steal my books again?" Reimu asked while peering out from the shrine's doorway.

"Dammit! I'm not stealing anything, I'm borrowing." Marisa shot back.

"You can "borrow" my books later, there's cleaning to do." Reimu disappeared back into the shrine with Aya following.

"I blame you for this, ze." said a distressed Marisa, looking at Corey with an accusing glare.

"First you kidnap me, then force me into labor, now you're blaming me for your blunders?" Corey scoffed, "Some friend"

He snatched Marisa's black hat from her and hid it behind him, teasing her using his larger stature to his advantage.

"Hey, no touching a witch's hat, ze! Give it back or I'm Sparking you!" Marisa threatened as she jumped around like a pissed off monkey, trying to get her beloved hat back.

"Say your sorry!" Corey taunted as he tossed around the black hat.

"Your sorry! Now give it back!" Marisa shouted as she brought out her mini-hakkero. Corey knew what she was going to do and held Marisa's hat in front of him. Marisa's eyes widened and she managed to shut down her mini-hakkero before destroying the very hat she was trying to rescue.

"That's what I thought. All you gotta do is say your sorry and you'll get your hat back." Corey held her hat up in perfect view.

"Okay...sorry..." She pouted. Corey walked over to her and put the hat back on her head, making his way over to more junk to ship off.

"So who do you think did it?" Aya asked Reimu, barely helping the shrine maiden at all, despite wanting an extensive interview from her and giving nothing in return.

"Do I look like I know who did it? If your gonna interrogate me, at least make yourself useful and ship out all that broken wood." Reimu pointed to a big pile of wood chunks then disappeared into the deeper shrine areas. Aya quietly obeyed, moving the wood just outside the door lazily.

"Why do you think your shrine was attacked?" asked an impatient Aya.

"Reimu DOES hunt youkai, it would only seem logical for some of them to retain their hostility." Alice piped up while having three of her dolls collect scattered shreds of torn paper and deposit them into a large trash can

"But to go this far in an attack just out of hostility?" Aya continued, looking up at a gaping hole in the roof. It was roughly the size of a small pond and went clear through.

"Maybe it's the youkai of rage? I dunno, all I know is that there's been alot of attacks lately, all similar in some way." Reimu gave a deep sigh and wiped some of the dripping sweat off her face, "Seems like it's turning into another incident that'll need my help to solve..."

"It does seem like it. So do you have any plans on confronting this incident?" asked Aya.

"It hasn't even officially been declared an incident yet!" Reimu shouted back.

"I suppose not. Well, I'll leave you to clean then, thanks for the update!" Aya zoomed off hastily, wanting to get her news ready to be published tomorrow.

"She's quite a nosy one..." Alice said quietly.

"You got that right. Thanks again for helping us clean up on short notice."

"Oh, it's no problem," Alice smiled alongside her dolls, "I'm just glad to be able to help."

The two worked well together in cleaning up the inside of the shrine, finishing up long before Corey and Marisa had the courtyard cleaned. It was around noon now, the sun at it's hottest. Corey actually had to take his favorite green hoodie off and lay it on the wooden porch of the shrine. This was the first, and likely the only, time that the girls were going to see Corey without his hoodie, though none of them seemed to really notice nor care.

"Hey, which one of you two wants to go get the wood at Kourindou?" Alice asked us, standing out on the porch with her doll, Shanghai, watching her from inside.

"I'll handle it, Marisa, you can get the rest of the courtyard." Corey replied, already knowing where to go thanks to Reimu telling him before where it's at. It wasn't far from the village and was seeable on the way to the shrine. Marisa had no complaints and neither did Reimu or Alice, leading Corey to take off on his shining steel wings for the isolated antique shop. He almost went right past it, but stopped himself short before he could. Landing and opening the door, he was instantly greeted by the thick scent of burning food. A man with glasses poked his head out from the way to the backrooms and said, "One moment."

Corey took a look around the randomly assorted stuff laid out in the store. He accidentally mistook it for more of a pawn shop than an antique store, but there weren't many antiques around. The man came out from his back rooms coughing from the smoke that slowly died down.

"Sorry for the wait. My name's Rinnosuke Morichika and welcome to the Kourinou, is there anything I can help you find?" Rinnosuke asked modestly, cleaning off his glasses and dusting off his strange robes.

"Yeah, do you have any oak or ceder planks?"

"They're in the back there." He pointed to the back-most shelves. Corey nodded and walked back, observing some of the strange things in his store. There was anything from soda to designer shoes to televisions. Corey grabbed a thick stack of oak planks and brought them to the front register. Rinnosuke wore a confused expression as he tried to figure out how to work his cash register. After multiple random button-taps, he finally got it opened.

"Woah,woah, wait a minute here..." Corey looked over to a dusty shelf containing various electronics. His eyes were caught on a shiny and practically brand-new Omnivox Gaming Console with a rather unique but hardly readable signature on it. On the signature attached to the disc drive, it read, "Corey R. Sairif"

"This is my freakin' Omnivox! Where'd you get this at?" Corey asked, picking up the heavy machine and looking over it to make sure it was his.

"Most of this stuff is what Yukari brings over the border to me." Rinnosuke replied, waiting for Corey to make another purchase that would net him more money.

"Yukari? That bitch, she stole my freakin' Omnivox and tried to sell it!" Corey shouted in aggravation. A black hole appeared on the floor directly under him, sucking him in and dropping him flat on his rear somewhere on a mountain range.

"Sonuvabitch!" Corey shouted loud enough to cause an avalanche of snow from the mountain he was on. Not even taking the time to complain, Corey sprouted his wings and took off for science knows where...

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion...

* * *

"Flandre, are you sure this is okay?" asked a worried Luna.

"Don't worry, it's not like we're hurting anyone, right? A couple pranks won't hurt anyone." Flandre gave a mischivious smile. Her and Flandre crept down the hallways, avoiding detection as they made their way to the kitchen to cause a little midday mischief. Luna wasn't particularly fond of making trouble at someone else's house, but Flandre insisted. The two stealthily invaded the kitchen while May was on bathroom break and the fairies were gone. Flandre, tiptoed over to a spice rack and pulled a couple of random spices out. She knew that the hot tea laying on the kitchen counter. Flandre gave Luna one of the spices and the two spiked the abandoned cup of tea with spices. When the two deemed their work done they hid the spices back where they belonged and ran out of the kitchen like bats outta hell.

"Oh, there's the mistress's tea...I suppose she'll want that now." Sakuya noticed the red tint in the tea and assumed it to be Remilia's tea. She stopped time and walked down the hall with the tea in hand. With time stopped, she noticed Flandre and Luna running down the hall with smiles on their faces.

"For once she isn't making a mess of anything. That's good to see..." Sakuya smiled and walked past, nearing the balcony where she resumed time to deliver the mistress her tea. But meanwhile, in the kitchen, May searched frantically for the tea meant for Remilia, panicking that now she was going to be in big trouble. She hurried to make another cup of tea before Sakuya came to pick it up...

Luna and Flandre made their way to the library next, hoping to see Marisa getting blasted out of the mansion by Patchouli. Watching Patchouli beat up on Marisa ranked right next to playing pranks on the fairy maids in Flandre's book. They neared the door leading into the vast library. Flandre and Luna peeked into the barely open door and listened in to see who all was there.

"After they came back, Corey shouted and pointed at my drink and said, "It's the accursed one!". Then I said, "Don't flip out so much, it's not my fault your dumbass drank the last one!"." Aurora told occasional tales of his friends and familys' misfortunes while searching through the library for elemental tomes she could use. She'd already found one for ice control and one for fire control. Her and Patchouli laughed together, enjoying their day learning from each other. Two bookworms in a library were like peas in a pod. Aurora, after finding the books she needed, sat back down with Patchouli, both of them wrapped up in study. Aurora had her nose buried in a book and Patchouli read data reports from Aurora's holograms.

"Okay, I'm going to make it look like her book's on fire if you want to give Patchy-sama a little water. Ready?" Flandre snickered, trying to keep her voice down.

"Hehe, I suppose. Go." Luna whispered in response. Luna took a finger and levitated Patchouli's tea out of her cup. Aiming her finger precisely, she splashed the tea all over Patchouli, not only scaring her but pissing her off too. Flandre made an illusion on the book Aurora was reading, levitating a flame right above the book to make it look like the book spontaneously combusted. Both girls in the library were having a fit whereas the mischivious duo just outside the library were having a good laugh. With their minds being the equivilant of seven-year-olds, they honestly didn't know any better. When the laughs were done, they booked it out of the vicinity of the library.

"Where should we go next?" Luna asked with a childish grin.

"The clock tower, it's about time for it's weekly check-up! Come on, follow me!" Flandre motioned for her to follow closer. The two continued their way innocently, pretending nothing happened even in the vicinity of Sakuya.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the balcony...

* * *

"Here's your tea mistress..." Sakuya rested the porcelain cup on the table and bowed gently before running off to check on Melody. Sakuya worried about letting the physically unfit Echocrafter work on the clock tower, so checking up on her was a must. Annette and Hong finished their fight, Hong being the winner. The two laughed together at the many stories they swapped. It was nice to see Annette not picking honest fights for once. I think her and Hong are going to be great friends.

"That's strange, I don't remember having Sakuya make me tea..." Remilia noted, taking a long whiff of the strange smelling drink.

"Smells like she used something new in it. Maybe she's trying to poison you." I jested, taking a whiff of my own. It smelled like cinnamon and something else.

"Ha! She wouldn't dare." Remilia took a small sip of it and shuddered violently, spitting it out over the balcony.

"The hell? Damn Sakuya, did you spike my tea with sake or something?" Remilia complained, wincing and shaking her head.

"Don't worry about calling her, I'll go take it back to the kitchen myself. I need to check up on my girlfriend anyways. I'll be back in a minute. Oh, and if Sakuya happens to come back, if it isn't too much trouble, send her my way. I want to know how Flandre and Luna are doing." I took her teacup and walked to the kitchen that I somehow still remembered how to get to. May was working frantically on dishes and drinks for dinner tonight. I dropped off the teacup in the sink, walked up behind her, and held onto her waist.

"Miss me much?" May asked, looking over her shoulder with her beady eyes.

"A little. I hope they aren't pushing you too hard." I replied, resting my head on her shoulder. I was waiting for her to mess up sometime or another, but she kept everything under control surprisingly. Usually if I'm around her, she starts losing track of what's going on.

"Nah, I like the challenge. Nothing like a little cooking to get the blood flowing." She shared a gentle laugh with me, moving around different dishes and such constantly. Sakuya appeared before my very eyes right at the kitchen doorframe, scaring me half to death. That's gotta be the only thing I don't like about her, she pops in and out constantly!

"The mistress said you wanted to see me, William-san?" Sakuya politely addressed me by my full name rather than the shortened version. It was kinda refreshing to hear somebody call me by that name, but I still like just plain ol' "Will" the best.

"Please, just call me Will. And yes, I wanted to know if you've seen Flandre or Luna lately. I just want to make sure they're playing nice together."

Sakuya smiled and said, "Last I saw them, they were wandering the halls, smiling and running together. I was actually going to check up on them soon, but there was an accident in the library."

I gave a worried look, as did May, and asked, "What happened?"

"None of us are really sure, Patchouli described her tea gaining a mind of it's own and splashing all over her and Aurora-san said that her book mysteriously caught fire..." Sakuya took time to try and figure out what happened, as did I. This sounds like the work of a certain pair of young-minded girls...

"Where did you see Luna and Flandre at?" I asked.

"They were heading from the kitchen last I remember." replied Sakuya.

"I think I know who our library sabateurs are, because that tea you brought to Remilia was tampered with." I educated with a sly smirk. I just wouldn't have thought that those two would be making mischief like this. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to let Luna play with Flandre after all.

"Sakuya, where's Melody at?" May asked, still cooking dinner.

"The clock tower, I believe." Sakuya replied, a very slight hint of worry established in her voice.

"Come on then, we have no time to waste..." I said bluntly, running to the doorframe leading out of the kitchen where Sakuya was still standing. Sakuya put a hand on my head and stopped me, pressing a button on her stopwatch.

"Now we have time to waste." Sakuya said with a friendly grin. The whole world had been stopped dead, time unable to continue forward.

"Do you have a sister or something I can take home with me? You are just too awesome!" I complimented, enjoying my stroll in a world without moving time.

Sakuya let out a blush and a chuckle, then said, "If I did, don't you think I'd be relaxing?"

"I suppose so."

We made our way to the clock tower just in time, Flandre and Luna were both trying to chime the bell manually and scare Melody and possibly send her flying off the edge of the balcony. I moved Melody back down into the mansion, then took position next to Luna while Sakuya took point at Flandre, resuming time. The two lost their trouble-making grins when they saw us watching them.

"Come on you two, back into the mansion." I motioned with Sakuya leading the way.

"I know you two just wanted to have fun, but you can't just run around ravaging the place. Play nice and play safe okay?" I lectured, doubting if either one was listening to me.

Sakuya nodded and agreed, "He's right, the better things are around here, the better things are for you."

"Sorry, we didn't mean to cause trouble, please forgive us." Luna apologized. I rested my hand on her back and pulled her closer while we walked. She knew she was in the wrong, but she wasn't afraid to admit it.

"I'm sorry too...I just wanted to have some fun!" Flandre said with a positive attitude that I suppose wasn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as she was smiling about something other than causing chaos.

"I'm sure if you both apologize for what you did, nobody will stay mad at either of you." Sakuya added, giving the two a positive smile. Our first visit was to the library, where the two made the biggest mess and about gave Aurora a heart-attack. I know she wont stay mad at them, she's sometimes guilty of tricks even worse than what these two can do. But as far as the purple-haired one who's name slips my mind...she might not be as forgiving. Both Luna and Flandre introduced themselves as the culprits behind the mess and apologized for their actions.

"Be careful performing such acts in a delicate enviroment like this." Aurora scolded, giving a shrug and smirk. The book she was reading seemed to be intact completely, not burned at all by the flames.

"Stupid stunts like that can make a real mess, something I DON'T want in my library. You're forgiven, but don't do it again." added Patchouli. She had already changed into new clothes, or rather, new pajamas. At least, I think that was a nightgown she was wearing. Luna and Flandre nodded and followed Sakuya out the door and to Remilia, who still waited out by the balcony.

"You two okay?" I asked, staying in the library.

Aurora, sitting down and returning to her book, said, "Yeah, no problems."

"I take it you two are getting along well?" I asked, watching Patchouli tinker with Aurora's holograms.

"Indeed. It's been a while since I've been so eager to share information. The only person that ever comes around is that annoying witch that keeps stealing my books." said Patchouli.

"So where do you get all these books at?" I asked, picking up a random book from the shelves and scrolling through it. Alot of it was written in a runic language that I was somehow able to translate to English. It talked about the fundamentals of elemental spell cards and how to properly combine the elements into single attacks.

"I write a large majority of them. Some of them are from friends, some are donations to my library, some of them just randomly pop in here." replied Patchouli.

I chuckled and said, "I'm sure you and Aurora have much to learn from each other."

"Indeed." Both of them said together. They looked at their data contently, so I thought it best to head out now. I put the book I had back on the shelf and made my way back to the balcony. Occasionally some fairy maids would pass by, chatting amongst themselves while they performed manual labor. I'd greet them as they passed and they would usually wave back. Some of them seemed kind of scared of me, but I think the more I'm around here, the more they'll start to warm up to me.

"Ah dammit...where'd I get lost at this time?" I asked myself, looking around while scratching my head. The lack of windows in this place made it exceptionally hard to tell where I was, and some of the fairy maids didn't even properly know where to go. I just wandered around until I found someone I knew to help me find my way back. I eventually found my way to the foyer, where I retraced my steps back to the balcony. Remilia and Sakuya waited for me there.

"Ah, there you are, outsider. I was about to send Sakuya to retrieve you." Remilia said with a modest grin, resting her head in one of her hands.

"What, did you miss me or something?" I asked.

"Ha! Well, as I've heard before, you must hunt for your dinner."

"D-d-dinner?" My eyes widened and my heart began beating twice as fast.

"I kid, I kid, relax outsider." Remilia waved a hand of dismissal to Sakuya. Sakuya disappeared in a flash, taking dishes from the table back to the kitchen to be cleaned. I'm sure my girlfriend's getting quite a workout from all this. Cooking for friends is one thing, but she's helping serve an entire mansion of people. I'm sure she'll be able to handle it though, she's a damn skilled cook and she even has the fairy maids to help.

"Come on, let's get to the dining room, dinner's to be prepared soon." Remilia motioned for me to follow. I got up from my seat, waving to Annette who noticed me in the distance, and followed Remilia. It was hard for my eyes to go from bright sunlight back to dimmed darkness. I may have good eyesight, but even this put a strain on me. Good thing we left the balcony too, now that it was nearly past sunset, it was really starting to cool down. We arrived at a long room with an elegant mahogany table that spanned the room. There were well made paintings of the mansion's main residents hanging from the walls alongside occasional candles that illuminated the room. There were two crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a fireplace behind Remilia's throne-like seat. I took a seat at one of the comfy chairs near the middle of the table. All the chairs looked like they were made of teak or mahogany and each one had a cushion on them made of velvet.

"This place is amazing..." I accidentally said aloud.

"It is isn't it? An amazing mansion for an amazing mistress." Remilia smirked, swirling around a goblet of red liquid that was more than likely blood. We had to wait a little longer for the food to be finished but we had small appetizers here and there to keep us busy for now. This really was a glorious life, if it wasn't for my hometown needing repairs, I'd live here for a few years at the least. It was a simpler, care-free life of wonder and fantasy...

* * *

Back at the shrine...

* * *

"Finally! I was about to send a search team, where've you been?" Reimu asked the now-returning steel warrior that had more than just a few scrapes and bruises.

"I was going to buy the wood and I noticed that the store was trying to sell one of MY gaming consoles. When I asked where he got it from, he said Yukari brings his shipments. I got pissed off, then next thing I know, that gap-hag dropped me off in the middle of freakin' nowhere!" Corey explained. Marisa was trying to hold in laughing and Reimu gave a distressed sigh.

"Hey, wait a minute, why are you wearing my jacket?" Corey asked Marisa, who wore Corey's olive green hoodie. Judging by the assorted items laying on the table, Corey guessed that Marisa had already gutted the jacket of it's inner contents.

"It get's cold at night! You stole my hat from me, so I'm going to borrow your jacket." Marisa looked through Corey's wallet, eyeing the little photo album inside it.

"Who's that?" asked Alice who was looking alongside Marisa. She pointed to a picture of Corey standing alongside a girl with green hair and an elegant white dress. Corey walked over and looked at the many pictures he had with them.

"That's me with my girlfriend, Angel." Corey explained.

"I thought your girlfriend was Rena-san?" Reimu asked, sipping her tea and eating snacks.

"Rena's my current girlfriend, yes. Angel was killed long ago, so that makes her my ex-girlfriend." Corey briefly explained, taking his wallet back and storing it in his jeans in case Marisa's sticky fingers tried to nab the yen out of his wallet.

"Ouch, that's gotta suck..." Marisa added.

"It's fine," Corey smirked, "I got revenge on the one that killed her. Anyways, enough sob stories, lets hop to work." Corey held up the planks he retrieved from the store before coming back to the shrine. It was getting dark and shadowy, the new moon making it hard to see anything in the woods near the shrine. Marisa and Alice helped Corey make the right boards to repair the structuring inside the holes. They worked hard and long, finally finishing somewhere around nine o'clock. Alice and Marisa headed home, ready for some much needed rest. Reimu offered them places to stay in the shrine, but they went ahead and made their way home. Now it was only Corey and Reimu.

"What about you? Aren't you going to head home too?" Reimu asked, finishing her tea and moving the cup back into the kitchen.

"Well, do you want me to?" Corey asked in response.

"It's up to you, doesn't really matter to me."

"I don't mind keeping you company for a little while longer." Corey smiled at her. She just shrugged in response.

"So is your life usually this hectic?" Corey asked, attempting casual banter.

"Eh, it varies. Sometimes it's boring, sometimes it's lively, sometimes it's just in between. How about you? Finding this life to be a little much?"

"Like I've said before, I've been to stranger places before. The people here are really nice, making it alot easier to adapt." Corey shrugged and laid down on the floor.

Reimu got up and closed the door to keep the harsh and cold breeze out, then said, "Just be careful about who you dub "nice", some of these people aren't what you think they are."

"I'm sure that couldn't be more true. So, if I may ask, who do YOU dub to be nice?" replied Corey.

Reimu sighed as she sat down, "Nice is a hard word to pass around. Just about nobody I know is directly "nice", but some people are better to have around than others."

"Then would I be wrong to consider you nice?" Corey asked with a friendly smile.

"Perhaps, but the judgement is all yours to make. I can be nice when I wanna be. For example, would you like some tea?" She flashed a quick grin, then walked into the kitchen.

"Please and thank you." Corey let out a long yawn and nearly fell asleep on the floor. He's never known a floor to be this comfy before, but he wasn't going to complain. The two enjoyed some hot tea, caught up on the latest gossip for a few hours, then Corey took off for home, leaving another small donation in Reimu's donation box. Reimu got a little hyper from seeing another donation left in the box, something she wished she could see more of. Both her and Corey finished the night with smiles on their faces.

"I'm back! Anybody here?" Corey shouted into the apartments. Kana and Grace welcomed him back, food prepared for supper despite there not being hardly anyone around. Strangely though, Grace was practically ready to pass out for some reason unknown to Corey. When he asked, Kana informed him that Grace apparently drank three bottles of sake, saying that her work today was extra hard. Corey overreacted for a moment, almost ready to leap out of the house and get Aurora, but then he realized that Grace wasn't Reformed. She was an ordinary human that was still able to drink alcohol without any ill effects. With that heartattack out of the way, Corey was able to sit down and eat peacefully, despite a drunken Grace trying to steal his food constantly. Apparently Rena and Satomi were hanging out with Yami today, so they weren't gonna be home for a while...

* * *

Meanwhile, at the mansion...

* * *

"Thank you again for letting us help you today. It was great getting to pay you back for the mess we made before." I gave a subtle bow to Remilia, as did my sisters and Aurora.

"It's no problem. Perhaps we can schedule for this to happen again soon. Do take care on your way home, the youkai tend to get overactive at night." Remilia warned, waving goodbye as we left for the outside. Annette ferried us back over to the shore of the Misty Lake one by one, all of us saying our farewells to Hong as well. As soon as we were out of sight, Hong took a nice long nap leaning against the walls of the gate. The forest was extremely hard to see in at night, but the dirt path was still partially visible. If we had Stella around, it would be so much easier, but I'm not going to risk her getting hurt again out here, never again.

"That was quite refreshing of an experience." Sakuya said to her mistress, standing beside her like an obedient dog.

"Indeed, I quite like these outsiders." Remilia added. Sakuya's eyes widened tremendously hearing such words coming from a vampire that used to treat outsiders like nature's fast food.

"They are very nice people, well-mannered too." said Sakuya.

"Not just that, but they know better than to pick a fight with me. I've tried a few times to piss off Will, but he outright refused to mess with me. It's rare to see an outsider that knows his place..." Remilia finished, walking to her room now to prepare for a night out. It was a new moon tonight, and Remilia was thirsty...

We walked in a tightly packed group, so that if one person heard something, chances are that all of us heard it. I held onto May tightly while we walked, calming her occasionally. She was terrified of the dark, she hated it.

"I'm sure all of us are ready for a nice long nap at home." I said. Everyone sighed and agreed. I was wide awake today, but that's partially because I didn't really do much work at all. I spent most of my time chatting with Remilia. She's awful talkative if you start talking about things she's unfamiliar with. It's like she loved to learn, but at the same time, was too lazy to be a bookworm like her librarian.

"May, can't you at least give us a light or something so we can see?" Annette complained.

"I don't wanna risk starting a forest fire. Plus we'll alert youkai if we do that." replied May, keeping us all warm with her fire powers. She radiated a heat that kept the chilly night wind away. Nothing that could start a fire of course, but still a nice heat. I stopped for a moment, the others still walking until they saw that I wasn't moving anywhere. I performed a sonic search, viewing the area and such for a strange noise I heard earlier.

"What's wrong Will?" Luna asked innocently.

"We've got company..." I said just loud enough for the group to be heard. There were many noises all around us, shuffling feet moving closer by the minute. I could detect multiple targets, one of them being bigger than the others. We bunched together with our danmaku ready. Whatever this was around us was more than likely ready to pick a fight...


	8. Chapter 8: Diminishing Wings of Change

Chapter 8: Diminishing the Wings of Change

"Haven't we been picked on enough here?" Annette complained.

"This batch of enemies seems to think we haven't." Aurora added. The rustling got closer and closer, then stopped. The silence of the forest put all of us at unease, there wasn't a sound to be heard. Out of a darkened wall of shrubery, a girl appeared, walking out and smelling of something awful. She wore a black and red dress with a pink ribbon tied behind her. Her hair was blonde and short with a red ribbon on top. A smaller fairy-like girl followed her as well, looking quite similar to her. I gagged as she approached and the only one that wasn't holding their nose was Luna. Before we knew what was happening, we were surrounded by these strange sounding little girls and boys. They made clanking and cluttering noises as they moved and their limbs moved kind of awkwardly.

"Su-san said there was prey about. Have you come to try the Su-san's poison?" The lead girl of this band of misfit children asked.

"Who are you talking about and who are you?" I asked bluntly in between coughing. My eyes began to water and my head started to spin. Whatever this girl was doing, it wasn't good.

"Let's see if Su-san will take you down today." The poisonous girl replied, ignoring any questions aimed for her. As she began attacking with danmaku, the strange little boys and girls around her started attacking too, hidden in the bushes and trees. I barely had the strength left to conjure my guitar, let alone make chords that might not even hit any targets. My hands, no, my whole body was going numb now.

"Will, we gotta get the hell outta here..." Annette tried to shout, but a weariness in her voice made her whisper. Melody and May were already collapsed on the floor and Aurora was kneeling on the dirt road, firing off shots from her storm cannon. Even her nearly flawless aim was conquered by the immense poison radiating from this mysterious girl. I rolled out of the way of two bullet barrages, not taking a scratch but collapsing on the floor in a poison-induced haze. My vision blurred and my ears would barely pick up noise but I could hear the echoes of danmaku firing. I thought I was finished off, my vision blacking out, but I wasn't dead. My last vision I could remember was seeing a black witch and her puppeteer friend next to her, fighting off these strange attackers. I passed out, letting the poison shut off my mind for a much needed sleep...

* * *

Elsewhere...

* * *

"Here's your tea..." Yami set down two teacups next to Satomi and Rena, both sitting on opposite ends of the coffee table. Yami, letting her wings out for air, sat down a little further away from the two, making sure not to hit either with her outstretched wings. Yami's house was alot bigger and more intricate than the measly apartments Rena and Satomi slept in with their friends and family.

Both girls thanked Yami and quietly listened to her talk about some of the most recent gossip going around Gensokyo, or rather, the Human Village.

"There's been some strange new houses just popping up in the village and right outside of it's borders lately. Nobody's sure about what's going on, but these houses are very old and look like these homes. Strangest part is that there's nobody in them either. They just appear at random." said Yami, stretching occasionally and petting her small cat named Kyomi.

"That's strange, but at least there'll be more places for people to stay at if they move here." Rena tried looking at the bizarre events through positive eyes, but there was a hint of suspicion and worry in her voice. She secretely hoped that these strange new buildings weren't coming from the outside world, there might be things in those houses that Gensokyo really shouldn't get involved in.

"That's true, but still, why are they showing up now?" Satomi replied, occasionally closing her eyes from fatigue of the day.

The three of them escorted Melody to her lessons today and it was far from easy. Thanks to the intense heat, the youkai of the forest are getting desperate for food and water, attacking any and all travelers in search of sustanance. Their group was attacked by many fairies and wolves and even some tengu. Melody was learning well from Lyrica though, she could not only play better, but even use some basic danmaku skills using her keyboard.

"Maybe it's Yukari's doing...she's always looking for something to keep herself entertained." Yami guessed.

"What entertainment would she get from summoning abandoned houses into the Human Village?" asked Rena, cocking her head to the side and raising a single brow.

"From what I hear, it's not just villages either. There's been caves appearing from the bottom of the Nameless Hill and around the Youkai Mountain. People say that you can hear strange noises coming from them, but so far nobody's been willing to go down there in case of meeting something trying to get up out from the holes." continued Yami. The clock striked midnight, chiming a soft tune that echoed in the house. Kyomi looked lazily at the clock then laid her head back down, soaking up the comfort she got from being held by her master.

"Alot of weird things have been happening lately...I wonder what's been going to Gensokyo..." Yami faded into thought, listening in on a strange noise outside. Rena got up from her warm seat and peeked out of the cracked sliding door leading outside. A heavy torrent of rain poured down, soaking the sunburnt street in lucious liquid that the ground and earth needed so badly.

"And to make things weirder, it's raining out now." added Rena.

"Really now? It's about time, the ground has been so dry for days now. Would you two like to stay the night here?" asked Yami, looking from Satomi over to Rena.

"Oh, we couldn't do that, we don't wanna be a bother or anything!" Rena returned, waving her hands in front of her and saying "no" many times to Yami. Finally, her and Satomi agreed to stay the night with Yami. Satomi seemed a little nervous, as did Rena, both of them a little iffy about staying the night with Yami.

"What's got you two worried so much? It's not like I'm going to suck your blood while you sleep or anything." Yami laughed with her fangs showing brightly from her mouth.

"Eeehh, hehehe..." Rena gave a forced and nervous laugh, as did Satomi.

"No, I'd never do that, no worries. Anyways, the night is ours, so what shall we do or say?" Yami left the conversation topic open. Satomi shrugged and Rena picked a random topic for the three of them to talk about. The night was young, as were the girls, and there was much to say and enjoy out of the rainy night...

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Forest of Magic...

* * *

"My head hurts..." I sighed, raising up from a futon sprawled out on the wooden floors. I looked around the house I was in, observing the constantly moving dolls running around the house. They were like tiny children, messing around occasionally and sometimes performing humanly tasks like reading and playing games. Some of them even played cards at the kitchen table. My guess, as true as it was, was that I was at Alice's house. A single doll I recognized to be Shanghai, came over to me and bowed, then brought me a hot cup of tea. I smiled and accepted, patting the little doll on the head while I drank the tea. I needed liquid badly, my throat was dry and itchy. I could hardly even remember what the hell happened last. All I could recall was our convoy making it's way through the darkened woods and we were attacked. I guess I have a few people to thank for rescuing me. But then a grim though reached my mind. What happened to the others?

I got up and stretched my limbs, popping joints in my body as I stood up. I walked with my tea in hand, looking around at the neatly organized and well kept house. There were plenty of books stacked in bookcases surrounding a fireplace. I passed through the kitchen and found a staircase leading to a second floor where Annette, Luna, and Alice rested at.

"Will!" Luna shouted, plowing her way through a couple of dolls to run over and leap onto me in a warm bear-hug.

"I take it you missed me?" I asked, letting her down to the floor and walking with her to the others. Alice giggled and Annette rolled her eyes.

"I missed you alot. I was worried when everyone fell asleep." said Luna, sitting down on the floor next to Alice.

"She explained what happened. I never would've thought you'd be attacked by her in the Forest of Magic." Alice cryptically said.

"Who was that weird girl?" Annette asked, resting her head on a bookshelf behind her.

"That was Medicine Melancholy, she's a living doll youkai that has power over poison. She's what made you all collapse. Don't worry about the rest of your friends, Marisa took what I couldn't carry over to her house." Alice explained, her fingers occasionally moving slightly while they rested on a side table. It was stunning to think that such little finger movement could control all these dolls and make them act independantly.

"I see. Well, thanks so much for helping us all. We should probably head out then, we wouldn't want to be a burden for too long." I was ready to stand up when one of Alice's dolls motioned for me to sit back down.

"You all shouldn't travel around at dark. Marisa and I can escort you all back to the village later when it's morning. Don't worry about staying the night here, I don't mind at all." said Alice, a warm smile inviting us to stay here for the rainy night.

"Alright, as long as you say we wont be a problem." I shrugged. Annette and Luna wandered downstairs to observe the dolls working around them while I stayed upstairs with Alice and played some soothing music on my guitar. I need something to take my mind off the stress of being here and playing my guitar always gets me in a more relaxed state of mind. After around an hour of playing, some of Alice's dolls would sit down and watch me play, slowly forming to an audience of cute little dolls. I would finish a song and they'd all clap until I played another one. Even Alice sat closer to me to watch me play. Now that I think about it, I don't think this world's bared witness to a guitar before. I know Melody was telling me about one of the Prismriver Sisters playing a violin, but I don't know if anyone's seen a full-fledged guitar before.

"That's an interesting instrument. How does it work?" Alice asked a good question. I didn't even know how the thing worked! I know little of how it actually does make the sounds it does, but I explained the best I could. Alice had one of her little dolls draw out a rough sketch to make a guitar. How she was going to get the metal for the strings was beyond me, but who knows? Maybe there's a metallurgist somewhere around here...

"Plan on making one of your own? You are pretty handy with your..erm...hands." I asked gently, letting my guitar vanish into thin air and resting crosslegged on the floor.

"I think it would be neat to make little guitars for my dolls. Maybe I can teach them how to play for me." Alice chuckled, looking over to the little doll that drew up her plans.

"I never learned properly, but I can say that it isn't hard to figure out once you get it set up..." I began explaining how to play guitar, her dolls looking at their hands and sometimes mimicking basic chords I showed them. Alice sat contently and quietly while I explained, asking occasional questions and having her dolls write down some notes. I wonder what the girls were doing downstairs...I hope they aren't breaking anything or fighting...

Luna, Annette, and some of Alice's dolls played cards at the tables, all of them playing an old fashioned game called Rummy. They'd peek up from their cards occasionally to look at a spread of cards in the middle. Luna was in the lead somehow, despite only just learning how to play.

"Annette, your go." Luna said to a finicky Annette.

"I know, I know..." Annette mumbled while she thought to herself, deciding what to do next. She picked up the large spread of cards on the table and sorted out triplets of cards based on matching properties. She was left with alot of leftover cards in her hand, but felt pretty good that she could easily make her way back up to second place. Even Alice's dolls were doing better than her. It was Alice's doll, Houran, up next, drawing a card from the deck and looking at her cards. She set down three aces and left one card next to deck and flashed a victorious smile.

"Dammit!" Annette cursed, counting up her cards and revealing herself to be in the negatives.

"Hehe...plus 150 over here." said Hourai.

"I've got 85 here." added Luna.

"I only got 125." Another of Alice's dolls named Kyoto added.

"Best out of eighteen..." Annette stated, shuffling the cards.

"You're on!" Kyoto and Hourai said together. Luna giggled and Annette gave a smirk as she passed out the last of the cards. Annette had a gut feeling she'd win this time, but chances were, that was just her headstrong personality feeding her lies...

* * *

And at Marisa's house...

* * *

All the girls were awake finally, their heads still light and their bodies numb, but they weren't too injured from the bombardment of danmaku aimed at them from before. Marisa, after ignoring the girls for a few moments in a search for a book lost in her mess of a house, eventually explained what attacked them. All of them were sketchy about Medicine Melancholy actually being a doll come to life. But whether they wanted to believe it or not mattered nothing to Marisa, she was more interested in trying to relocate her lost tome.

"Has this home been cleaned even once?" Aurora bluntly asked, keeping her distance from the strange artifacts and occasional dirty dishes littering the house. There was barely even any space to walk around and the path to just the bed was more like a maze than a walkway.

"I'm still working on a cleaning spell, ze." Marisa replied, moving books around and tossing about different sets of spare clothes. Finding the book she was looking for, Marisa let out a happy squee and began reading the book while trying to walk in her messy house. She'd constantly trip over books and such laying on the floor but she didn't care one bit.

"Something wrong, May?" Melody asked her nearby friend, sitting on Marisa's bed with her.

"Nope, I'm fine." replied a spacey May.

"Speak now if you ever intend to speak at all." Aurora brutally shot to May.

"Well, I just wish I could've at least helped fight...I can't do anything without risking starting a forest fire..." May sighed. Marisa happened to overhear the conversation and peered her head up from her book.

"That's easy magic to contain, want me to show you how it's done?" said Marisa.

"Would you really be kind enough to do that?" May asked, her eyes gleaming with a hint of hope.

"Sure, but first you have to do something for me." shot back Marisa with a smirk.

"What is it?"

"You gotta help me find my traveling notebook...it's somewhere around here and I can't find it." Marisa scratched her head in confusion, not wearing her hat for once. May began at once to look for the lost notebook, searching for a good thirty minutes before finding it perched atop a bathroom cabinet. May, feeling mischivious, looked through the notebook, hardly making sense of the contents. Alot of it was diagrams and hastily scribbled notes, none of them appealing to May. She walked back into the living room that lacked breathing room and held the notebook high in the air for Marisa to see.

"Ah, good, you found it, ze..." Marisa flipped through the notebook, examining the expressions on the notebook.

"Well, let's get started then, out we go." Marisa rushed May outside, despite it raining harshly. As soon as they stepped outside though, the rain ceased to hit either girl, like a bubble-like shield formed over them. The wind rustling through the nearby trees and giant mushrooms didn't even get to them.

"Okay...I'm sorry but this place needs to be cleaned. NOW." Melody made sure to put Aurora to work as well on making Marisa's house actually look like a house. Bit by bit, they washed dishes and moved around book gathering dust in their isolated and sometimes in-the-way locations. They came across many strange artifacts and relics and such, brimming with magical energy and each one making a different reaction when either girl touched it. They stored these things on the floor near Marisa's bed. Their first choice of action was to clean out a row of shelves to store the artifacts on, along with names to identify them with.

"Okay, hold up this book and I'll test these mechanisms on you to identify their effects." Aurora handed Melody a book to hold up and showed her how to hold it. Luckily, it was taking May a long time just to figure out basic fire usage, so her and Marisa were going to be busy for a while. The first thing Aurora picked up was a sphere of stone with two glowing circles of blue circling around it. She had little idea as to how she was going to activate it, so in the end, she just threw the sphere at the book. It's effect triggered in all the wrong ways, turning the book into a super bouncy material. It flung all around the room like an enraged spirit, bouncing off the walls.

"Hurry up! Get it!" Aurora shouted, just barely missing the speeding book. Melody finally caught it and pinned it to the floor. Aurora deactivated the effect by hitting it again with the glowing ball of stone.

"Okay, so this causes certain items to become super-bouncy..." Aurora wrote on a little sheet of paper and taped it to the shelf edge, setting the sphere on the shelf. Aurora's next "toy" looked like a small rectangle of energized iron, glowing with a radiant light. There was a single button on the top of it, showing clearly how to activate it. Aurora shot the same tome in Melody's hands with a colorful beam of light. It turned the book alive this time, making it float around, opening and closing like a mouth. Aurora fired away at the floating book, missing it by mere inches. The book floated fast up and down the halls of Marisa's still messy home, despite them working for two hours already on the mess. Aurora was a few seconds away from just torching the book with her flamethrower, but talked herself out of it, finally hitting it and sending back into it's existance as a mere book.

"This is gonna be a LONG night..." Aurora sighed, labeling and storing the stone.

Melody chuckled and said, "Yes, this shall be quite a long night indeed..."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Alice's house...

* * *

A doll come bursting from the outside door, rushing inside with a panicked expression. The other dolls that continued maintaining the house gave her puzzled looks as she zoomed by. The frantic doll headed upstairs and pulled on Alice's arm while pointing out the door.

"Something wrong?" I asked, putting away my guitar.

"Excuse me for a moment." said Alice. She walked downstairs and outside where a certain ice fairy was collapsed in the distance, wounded and possibly bleeding. Alice never knew a fairy to bleed, but that's thanks to danmaku and it's non-lethal projectiles. Helping carry the fairy inside, Alice thought she heard a rustling nearby in the bushes. She dismissed it as a stray wolf youkai and went back upstairs, her doll calmed down as it closed the door. The fairy, known as Cirno, still breathed but couldn't open her eyes or move.

"What happened?" Alice asked futily. The fairy didn't respond, either because it couldn't or because it lacked the conciousness.

"Who's that?" I asked as she brought the little ice fairy over to a cleaned off table to let her rest.

"Cirno, I believe..." Alice said, her eyes widening when she looked at the horrific wounds hiding under her thick clothing.

"Damn...looks like the same thing that tore up my girlfriend and my sister got ahold of that little one..." I commented, looking at the verticle tears in Cirno's skin. Cirno shook around for a couple seconds and woke up, rocketing up and looking around frantically.

"What happened?" Alice bluntly asked.

Cirno winced at her wounds and replied, "Some big meanie wouldn't fight with danmaku and attacked me with some kind of sharp stick."

"Yeah, she's been attacked by the same person alright. What's up with that damn thing, it just plain out attacks anyone and anything." I said to myself, looking again at her wounds, "Should we heal her?"

"She should heal on her own soon enough." Alice added, looking around Cirno for any other wounds. I couldn't see any on her besides the one on her shoulder and across her arms.

"Yeah, Cirno's strong! I can heal on my own!" Cirno replied with a self-righteous smile.

"But you should probably rest for right now." said Alice.

"I'm the strongest fairy in all of Gensokyo, I don't need to rest! I wanna fight that meanie that attacked me!" Cirno replied with a headstrong attitude that reminded me of Annette. Alice looked at me and nodded, wanting me to put the overactive fairy to sleep. I summoned my guitar and played a swift but calming melody that quickly had Cirno fast asleep before she could flee. Alice kept her stored on a nearby futon and had her dolls tend to her occasionally. She rarely needed tending to as far as her condition goes, occasionally I'd have to put her back to sleep, but I had to stay in the still-chilly room too so I could act fast enough to get her back to bed. It wasn't all that bad though, she was kinda cute when she slept. It was kinda like one of Alice's dolls, but bigger.

"You know what this means right?" Alice asked, looking at Cirno's already healing wounds.

"Yeah, that thing's still out and about in the forest..." I replied with a grim voice. I looked out the window to the full moon watching us in the night sky. The rain tapped on the window and echoed on the roof, making this night far from peaceful...

* * *

At Marisa's House...

* * *

"You think you got it, ze?" Marisa asked, showing proper flame usage in the forests one last time. May nodded and thanked Marisa for the lessons. The two entered the vine-covered home of the ordinary witch and were turned upside down, literally.

"Ow...the hell?" Marisa complained, rubbing her noggin that just collided with the roof.

"Yeah, I ain't got a damn clue how to work this one..." Aurora said to Melody, turning an arrow-shaped device in her hands in search of a reversal switch or some way to turn off the inverse gravity.

"Gimme that!" Marisa shouted, snatching the device from Aurora and twisting the bottom of the arrow shaft, stone collapsing and reforming into an upside down shape. It glowed with a blue aura then released it's gravitational pull, sending everyone back down to the floor.

"Wow, you really spruced the place up..." May admired the now-visible floor and well-organized bookshelves. There was still some piled up clutter in some spots, but for the most part, it was finally clean in the house.

"Damn, I can actually see the floor for once...I forgot I even had this..." Marisa admired the dirty but visible floor. Little dust bunnies made their way across the boards and the floor made an awful creak in some parts, but at least it wasn't rotten or anything.

"I would imagine, there was some sort of magical coating on the floor that blacked it out in some spots. I imagine that it was some sort of spectral void, but regardless, Melody and I found the proper artifact to fix that problem." stated Aurora as she played with her holograms again, catagorizing the different artifacts and relics on the wall for later reference.

"Uh, mind saying which one you used to fix this problem?" Marisa asked, concerned a little.

"I believe it was that one." Melody pointed to a black and white relic that had two semi-circles attached to a steel rod coated in runes.

Marisa's mouth gaped open and she ran to a nearby window, looking outside. A distorted and blurry individual watched them from near a clearing of trees, a deformed smile worn on her hardly-visible face.

"Crap, this is bad!" Marisa shouted, taking off for the door and thrusting outside. She started firing danmaku shots by the dozen at the blurred creature. It jumped and leaped out of the way, quickly closing a large gap between the fighters. The creature readied it's two spears, barreling towards her.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Marisa shouted, holding up her arms while the thing readied for a final leap. Marisa didn't even have time to duck or pull out her mini-hakkero, just enough to hold up her arms and brace for impact. Normally, under danmaku rules, this thing would be well past dead already, but it didn't feel like playing under danmaku. It had a blood lust that wouldn't be satisfied by colorful orbs. A clank of steel against steel led Marisa to lower her arms. Aurora blocked the creature's strikes using her signature battleaxes attached to her arms and replacing her hands.

"Spark him! Now!" Aurora commanded.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" replied Marisa, taking out her mini-hakkero and unleashing hell in the target's vicinity. She declared her spell card and let loose, tearing a straight gash in the ground. The creature was nowhere to be seen now, suggesting that it was decimated in the spark.

"Hehe, I don't think he'll be getting back up, ze." Marisa gloated with a carefree smile. A line of flame danmaku grazed Marisa's back, aimed for the attacker coming from the forest to Marisa's side. Marisa's mouth gaped open as she turned her head to the left to the blurry figure now clear as day and right next to her side. It was stopped midair by May's fire bursts. She unleashed torrent after torrent of firey rain, leading Marisa to begin attacking as well with her signature witchcraft. Aurora joined in, but as a defensive role, using her battleaxes to defend the two against the creature's physical attacks. The only thing the trio could make out from the creature's vision distorting tricks was that it was a girl.

"Melody, see if there's something of Marisa's in the house that can help!" Aurora shouted to the house while blocking another trio of vicious slashes aimed for May. Aurora had the creature's spears hooked and trapped in her axes, both of them at a stall. She raised her leg to try and kick the creature with her pink sandals, but the creature thought fast. It let go of it's spears to grab Aurora's leg and twisted it to the side, reversing Aurora's position to face May. It kicked Aurora atop May and retrieved it's spears. Marisa launched another strike from her mini-hakkero, ignoring any and all rules of danmaku for this fight. The creature flipped and dodged out of the way just in time to avoid becoming a flaming paste on the ground.

Melody, inside the house and searching through the unidentified artifacts, picked out a red orb with stone circles encasing it like a gyroscope. She brought it outside and aimed it at the dashing blurry figure, shooting it at exactly the wrong time and with exactly the wrong shot. It let out a sideways arc of fire danmaku, making a sort of curtain to the side. It was just the right height to accidentally catch Marisa's hat on fire, singing some of her dress too.

"Hey now! Careful with that!" Marisa shouted, putting her fires out while Aurora and May kept the figure distracted.

"Ack! I'm so sorry!" Melody shouted back, retrieving a different artifact. She rummaged through boxes and crates in search of something else to use, most everything useless was already classified but some stuff remained aside for later. The only thing she could merely try on such short time was a tome laying on Marisa's side table. Melody grabbed it's leathery exterior and flipped it open to a random page. She ran back outside, the figure still trying to cut apart Marisa. Aurora started to get crafty with the figure, occasionally finding space and time to slice back at the figure. Of course, it's speed was too much for her to hit, but it made it flee back further and further each time, allowing more precious time for Melody to find something to banish the figure until Marisa could restore the magical barrier around her house.

"Ekitai no jumon!" Melody incoherantly read a spell out of the tome she had. The tome shot out a wave of danmaku bullets that, when they made contact with something, formed black puddles of goo. Marisa had to float out of the way of the spell and Aurora ducked to avoid it. Of course, they guessed that nothing would happen to them, but they didn't dare take risks.

"Uh...uhm..." Melody panicked, flipping through pages to try and find something better. She found a page with a teardrop-shaped diagram and some easier to read texts in a different language. Melody panicked at the strange texts, wondering if she could really read them. She closed her eyes and focused on her Echocrafter translation genes or even just something that would read the spell clearer. Determined and focused, Melody read the spell aloud.

"Ekitai ni mukeru!"

Melody's tome shot out a three layered wave of bullets that only managed to make it's way to some trees and a bystander that Melody didn't see until she looked around. The trees had been turned to a liquid-like state. Unfortunately, May also was hit by this spell, turning her into a talking pile of goop.

"Oh no! I'm so so sorry!" Melody shouted to the field. She closed the tome and ran back inside to get something else.

"Huh...so this is what it feels like to be a slug. This is kinda cool." May commented, sluggishly making her way to the porch where she wasn't likely to be stepped on. Just as she made it up to the porch, a missed shot from Marisa made it's way into May's puddle-like body. The danmaku was stopped dead as it sunk into the puddle of May.

"Hmm...tastes fruity..." May commented as she finished off the danmaku bullet.

"You can eat danmaku? Sweet!" Marisa shouted with a childish grin. She let her guard down doing that, Aurora having to save her life again.

"Focus! Use your mini-hakkero if it's cooled down!" Aurora instructed, looking over her shoulder. Marisa nodded and floated high into the sky and pulling out a spell card.

"Light Blast: Shoot the Moon!" Marisa declared her spell card, sending a shower of danmaku to the earth below. Aurora leapt out of the way and started coating the field in a barrage of storm cannon shots. Despite Aurora never getting proper training in danmaku, she was still only able to conjure bullets instead of her actual lethal weaponry that likely could've already toasted this creature. No matter, the creature was quickly wearing down and even took a couple shots to the chest, making it reel back and flee into the trees. It leapt around trying to get the jump on either Aurora or Marisa, but getting neither.

"Okay, let's see, let's try this one." Melody muttered to herself, picking a random relic from the pile of stone artifacts she deposited out on the porch. She wore herself running in and out of the house and only had a few artifacts left to try so she just brought the rest of them out with her. In Melody's hands was a camera-like artifact made of obsidian with a single button on the back and a little tube on the front. Melody pressed the button, making time stop and slowly rewind.

"Is this one of those things the bird people had?" Melody asked, looking down at the camera-relic while time still went back. She pressed the button again and time returned to normal. Quickly dismissing the relic, she arbitrarily grabbed another one and aimed it's telescope-like tube at the still attacking creature. Even in the downpour of rain and danmaku she could still somehow see the panicked creature dodging Aurora and Marisa's synchronized attacks. May would occasionally cheer them on and swallow stray danmaku bullets, identifying different flavors of the bullets.

"Maybe it's this one..." Melody fired the telescope, making a laser come out from it and nailing the creature head on. It knocked it down, but barely stunned it and did something strange to it. It looked like it's whole color scheme of it's originally purple and black dress was now crimson and hot pink.

"A color changer? Really?" Aurora asked with a raised brow aimed at Marisa.

"Hey! Color dye is expensive so don't blame me, ze!" replied Marisa. The creature was already back to slashing at the two, making it's moves more pronounced and faster too. The girls just couldn't keep up anymore and began taking nicks and scratches, despite constantly flinging futile danmaku bullets at it. It's agility was just too incredible to be attacked. Aurora and Marisa could only defend now as their energy was slowly fading.

"Come on, please be what we need!" Melody whispered to herself, taking a waypoint-shaped arrow pointing at a circle in the ground. The relic shone with a green light and once it was tilted on it's side, it floated in place, ready to be fired. She fired it at the creature but nothing happened, except that it was now highlighted in a green border.

"Fire it somewhere else!" May suggested, still slithering around in her gelatanous form. Melody fired it at a trio of bushes and made the creature teleport. Her eyes widened in delight, happy to find something that could help berid them of the foe. Melody, aiming past the still thick rain and danmaku, fired again at the already recovered creature. It was highlighted in green and ready to be teleported. Melody had to think fast, something she wasn't good at. Randomly aiming towards the night sky, she fired the second shot at the moon, making the foe teleport off to the moon.

"Not bad, at least now that damn thing won't be coming back. Let the Lunarians take care of it..." Marisa shrugged, getting out of the rain with Aurora in tow. Marisa managed to revert May's jelly form and back into her normal old self. She secretely missed being a formless blob that could absorb danmaku, but she knew that her boyfriend wouldn't find kissing her to be as pleasureable anymore.

"Well, that was all for me tonight, good night." Marisa plopped on her bed, out like a light in minutes flat. The others shrugged and fled to their futons randomly assorted in the house. The rain still poured down hard and thunder cracked the sky constantly, making the night just as peaceful as their fight was...but somewhere...there was a hint of natural beauty radiating from the storm tonight...something magical about it...

* * *

Meanwhile...at the apartments...

* * *

"I'm home now." Grace said with a quiet voice. Her voice was cold and hushed, probably from being out in the rain. The lightning kept noise constant, even though there were no windows to see it, it still made an earth-shaking sound. Corey and Kana sat in the living room, lit by a multitude of bright candles. If you didn't know any better, you'd almost say there was lightbulbs in the kitchen.

"I was beginning to worry. You were out for quite a while there." Corey commented, his feet hidden under a warm kotatsu. Kana just finished preparing tea, enough for all three of them.

"Welcome home, Grace-chan." Kana greeted with a cheery smile.

"Please, just Grace," Grace chuckled, "And thank you."

"Have fun at work?" Corey asked bluntly with a wicked smile.

Grace rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, it was all puppies and sunshine until some perverted ten-year-old tried peeking up my skirt."

Corey burst out laughing and Kana shook her head with a grin.

"Wasn't funny, I was ten seconds from clobbering that kid Mortal Kombat-style." Grace shot back, taking sips of her tea while getting her legs comfortable under the kotatsu. The night was still young and the storm was near impossible to sleep in, leaving the three to stay up late tonight.

"Mortal...what?" Kana asked with a raised brow on her pale face.

"Heh, it's an old game, sorry. I keep forgetting that your not from our world." Grace added with a guilty smile.

"Even if she was from our world, she probably wouldn't know what that was. That right there is a seriously old-school game," Corey let out a hardy laugh, "I barely even know about it."

"There's a game you don't know about?" Grace asked sarcastically. Kana kept quiet and watched, not understanding what the two were talking about.

"Sorry, little bit of nerd talk. So let's talk 'bout something Kana can join in on..." said Corey.

"Oh no, that's fine." Kana smiled and held up her gloved hands.

"No, we don't want you to feel left out. So...you're a poltergeist right? Made by who?" Corey asked, leaning forward and resting his head on his hands.

"I was made by a young girl that had some problems with her mentality. She was a sweet and thoughtful person but she didn't always have her head where it needed to be." Kana began explaining.

"So she was kinda like Stella?" Grace asked.

Kana nodded and continued, "She had her head in the clouds so much that some people wondered if in her past life she was a tengu. One day, when her parents shunned her and had a bad fight with her, her mind finally had enough and created me. I kept her company all those years, staying by her side while she dreamed, comforting her when she was sick. Then one day, while she was dreaming, she didn't wake up. After that, I wasn't bound to the mansion anymore."

"That's sad...do you still miss her?" asked Grace, honestly interested in the story. Corey also had his ears open and listening, even though the thunder sometimes made it hard to hear.

"I do...I can't remember her name anymore, but I remember her every detail down to the clothes she loved. But I needed to move on, so I left the mansion, no longer bound to it. It was a scary journey, but once I found the Human Village, I made my home here, playing with the other children and tending to them while I searched for some other place to haunt."

"You make it sound like you want to stay somewhere just to scare the residents." Grace giggled.

"Sometimes I did, but it wasn't to be mean or anything. I just wanted to play." Kana gave a warm smile that meant no harm to anyone, "But enough about me, what were your lives like? I kinda wanna hear about what happens out there in the outside world."

"Heh, it's not much really. It's probably exactly what you'd think, the only thing that's changed since the twentieth century is the Reformed evolutionary gene." said Corey. The three continued to educate each other about the worlds around them, the people around them, and even about themselves. This was the first time in so long that Kana had felt a real sense of belonging, a reason to be around. She was happy around her new family, and her family loved having her around, even though Corey was mainly just happy to have someone to make him food and drinks. The night was still young and they had so much to tell each other, making the night a memorable one, despite the sudden downpour of rain that flooded the streets. Nobody dared to move around outside, fleeing to their homes and shops to avoid the rain. The moon still watched though, watched the world below to see what would happen next...if anything happened at all...

* * *

"I'm not giving up...til every last one of them is dead..."

"Hey, who are you? What are you doing at the Lunar Capitol?"

"Hehe...I'm your worst nightmare...you animal..."

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter everyone, I've been a little busy lately and a little under the weather so it's not too much. I tried to aim for more of a comical Touhou approach and I think I did well so hopefully it'll entertain everyone for now until I have more to add ^^


	9. Chapter 9: Walking With Isolation

Chapter 9: Walking With Isolation

I didn't fall asleep anywhere a futon or any comfortable surface really. I just kinda passed out with my back rested against the wall. My guess was that I lulled myself to sleep with my own music. The rain was gone today, the floor still soaked though. Drops of water reflected off the midsummer sun, shining into the brightly lit window in the foyer-like room. That fairy from before, Cirno, had disappeared, likely already looking around for that spear-weilding foe that slashed her up last night. It wasn't my job to take care of idiotic fairies, so I wasn't going to worry about it. Alice and the others weren't upstairs, but some of her dolls were already cleaning up the house and it's many fleeing dust-covered furnishings. I got up, stretching my arms and legs while popping my back with sickening sounds. I wandered downstairs where Luna was passed out at the kitchen table and Alice was sitting in her chair, working on one of her dolls. Annette was outside, training her danmaku, firing rhythms of wind bullets at a big oak tree. I watched her from the window, her focused eyes not even bothering to look back at the house to see me watching her.

"Morning, Alice. Thanks for letting us all stay the night, we really appreciate it." I thanked her, scaring her and making her jump.

"I didn't hear you come down," She giggled, quickly stashing away the doll she had. If I didn't know any better, judging by the strange brown mop of hair her newest doll had, I'd say she was hiding a special project or something.

"Hard at work are we?" I asked, trying to hide a sly grin.

"Not really, just working on something small for myself." She smiled, getting up and helping me wake Luna. She was in a deep sleep, drooling on the table and whispering things in her sleep. She was cute when she slept, her blue hair hiding her innocent face that sometimes smiled while she was asleep. Finally, after several attempts, she opened her eyes and looked up to us.

"Morning sleepyhead, have a nice dream?" I asked with a brotherly smile that warmed up my sister like a light.

"Yuppers! Are we gonna go for a nature walk today?" Luna asked, somehow remembering Alice talking about leaving in the morning for the village. Normally she doesn't remember stuff like that, her memory only going a couple minutes back, but I guess today she was in a good enough mood to remember. Someone must've had a pretty good dream to be in this good of a mood.

"Yeah, go ahead and get ready and we'll head out." Alice added, motioning for one of her dolls to hand her an extra change of clothes for Luna. It was a blue and green dress for her that might be a little tight, but at least she can go around not smelling like she has for the past couple of days. Luna went upstairs to a bathroom on the second floor and changed into her new clothes. She looked like the daughter of Cirno to be honest, but she was still cute as ever. Good thing the majority of Gensokyo's residents seem to be girls or I'd be knocking out men left and right for staring at my sister.

"Ready?" I asked, gesturing her to follow Alice and I out the door. We walked out just as Annette tested her first spell card. I almost took a blow from her giant wind warhammer as spun it around and slammed it on a tree, knocking down the tree by accident.

"Well shit, that wasn't supposed to happen..." Annette scratched her head, mumbling to herself. She turned around and jumped when she realized that we were all right behind her, giggling at her lumberjack skills.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Annette rolled her eyes and got in our convoy as we departed for the Human Village. The wind was a little strong today, but at least the sun finally stopped shining down like a colorless laser. It was nice to see that the flowers were blooming again, soaking up any and all rain around them. I recognized some of the flowers from the garden at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. There was a color changing flower, a crystal-like one, and one that kinda looked like a little stereo speaker with steel-colored petals on it. I picked up the speaker-flower and put one in Luna's hair just to see how she'd look with it. It clashed with her dress, but in a good way, one that suggested she liked to wear whatever she wanted to, which was mostly true.

Luna giggled and said, "Thanks Will."

"You two are goofballs." Annette said with a superior attitude.

"Least I'm not a mindless brute." I shot back.

"You're just jealouse." She replied with a smirk on her face.

"Do you usually argue like this?" Alice asked, two of her dolls, Hourai and Shanghai, looking over their shoulders to us.

"It's not really arguing as much as it is playful banter." I said to her, giving Annette a brief hug as we walked. She returned the hug hesitantly, eventually smiling until I almost rammed her into a tree. I laughed and she reared her fist back, wanting to punch me but stopping and grumbling to herself.

Alice giggled alongside her dolls and said, "It's cute."

"Do you have any family, Alice?" Luna asked, still playing with random flowers we'd find along the path. I had to protect her from a couple of mushrooms though that she picked off a log. Don't want her getting a whiff of any fungus from here, she doesn't need help being crazy.

"I don't remember what happened to my parents or siblings. It's been so long now, I barely remember them. Closest thing I've ever had to family was my dolls." replied Alice. Her dolls sat down on her shoulders and hugged onto her neck gently.

"Well, if it helps any, I'd offer to help you find your family." Luna offered kindly.

"Hehe, that's sweet of you, but I think I'll be fine." She replied to the skittish and bouncy sister of mine.

"Woah, what happened here?" Annette pointed to a clearing up ahead, dozens of trees and blood scattered across the grove. The area was a mess and it looked like it continued through for quite a ways. Whatever did this was well past pissed off.

"I bet it was the same thing that attacked Cirno..." Alice quietly suggested.

"That's likely," I stepped over a fallen group of trees, "But what could've pissed it off as much as to senselessly annihilate a stip of trees?"

Alice kept quiet for a while, stepping with us over the fallen trees and shrubs blocking our path. I had to help Luna up and down some of the trees, her elegant dress being tricky for her to climb in. I helped her down but she tripped again trying to catch up with us.

A hideous cracking filled the sounds of the forest, disturbing our convoy as we looked back just in time to see a shredded tree collapse and fall on Luna's leg.

"Dammit, not again!" I shouted, trying to push the tree off. It took all three of us to peel the tree off of her.

"What is is about this damned place that keeps injuring my sisters?" I shouted loud enough for every resident of the forest to hear me. Tears flowed down Luna's face, but she was hardly even conscious right now, her eyes winced shut and her breathing hastened.

"Don't worry sister, I've got you..." I picked her up in my arms and carried her along. Scrapes and bruises dotted her legs and from the twist in her foot, I think she might've had a broken ankle. Poor girl, it broke my heart to see her in pain. I comforted her all I could while I carried her, rocking her gently and humming tunes to her to try and calm her. I stopped dead when I heard a pair of distant rattling noises coming from the sides of the clearing. There was a thick dark blob and a shadowed figure of brown leaping about in the depths of the more shadowed forest.

"Keep still and if you smell anything strange, close your nose." Alice instructed briefly, her dolls taking point and being Alice's eyes and ears. They had little shields and spears that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Yummy food..." The brown shadow said, perching itself up on a nearby tree limb.

"Hopefully it'll taste better than your lamprey." The glob of darkness standing in the middle of our path replied.

"Mystia and Rumia...Annette, you ready for a fight?" Alice asked, preparing an entire row of dolls that appeared from magic.

Annette cracked her knuckles and said, "Hell yeah, let's kick some ass!"

I stayed behind and out of sight, hoping that Annette and Alice could kill them off before they could attack Luna and I. It was a two on two battle, Annette against Rumia and Alice against Mystia. Alice was protected against Mystia's night-blinding spells and Annette was quick enough to dodge away from Rumia's field of darkness. They occupied two ends of the forest, both spreading danmaku everywhere and nearly hitting Luna and I.

"Having trouble seeing?" Annette teased, firing a cross of danmaku from her wind scythes. After that, she launched a trio of spiraling storm shots from her hands.

"I can see fine, how about you? Will you be able to see much at the bottom of my stomach?" Rumia replied, spreading a mirrored spiral of dark spheres. The two just kept exchanging fire, dodging each others shots while they floated up in the air. Finally, one of them declared a spell card, Rumia to be exact.

"Night Sign: Night Bird!" Rumia shouted, spreading wing-like patterns of randomly flying bullets at timed intervals. Annette's wings made it hard for her to squeeze through the narrow openings left for her to escape in.

"You can do it!" I cheered her on. I felt an explosion nearby my legs, scaring me and making me thrust my head over my shoulder. Alice had already started her first spell card, firing red lasers everywhere with her dolls. Mystia fired back constantly, hitting a bubble-shield made around Alice while she casted the spell. The shield started to change colors the more Mystia attacked, weaving out of the way of the lasers and returning fire. A cascade of colorful bullets eventually broke through Alice's shield, hitting her and making her wretch back in pain. Her dolls multiplied now, a full wave of them firing back at Mystia. Mystia gave a cocky smirk and weaved around the attacks like she knew exactly what she was doing. Honestly, considering her nooby status, I think Mystia was just catching some serious luck. Alice has alot of power, more than enough to take her down, but why hasn't she finished her off yet?

"Vocal Sign: Howl of the Horned Owl" Mystia declared her first spell card with a song-like voice and began belting out circles of bullets that extended much farther than her normal bullets. They flung everywhere but Alice had no trouble dodging them and returning fire just as Mystia did. She was quicker in scrapping the shield from Mystia and pelting her in shots that seemed to bounce off each other and multiply mid-stream. Mystia was overwhelmed and finally taken down, shot down in midair and thrusted to the floor. Alice floated back down to the ground and dusted herself off, checking the wound she got earlier when Mystia broke through her defenses. Her clothes were scorched and torn a little, but she was without any lasting scars. Their battle was over but Rumia and Annette still raged it on behind me. I turned back around, still crouching by a little pit of fallen trees.

"Brutal Wind: Halberd of the Final Storm!" Annette unleashed her last spell card, more than enough to take down Rumia or whoever this strange darkness girl was. I could see a faint silhouette of a girl in the dark cloud, and she was panting and gasping for air from what I could tell. Annette formed two massive spears in her hands, both tipped with a jagged edge and wisp-like etchings on the shaft. A row of translucent spears appeared behind Annette and shot into the sky, forming black clouds above them, efficiently trapping Rumia who couldn't even see the clouds past her dark field. She'd already taken two hits and probably only needed one more to be brought down. A shower of spear-like projectiles rained from the sky. They were arrows with lines of danmaku following them and they shot at Rumia in a "W" and "M" shape, alternating while Annette slashed around her giant spears, sending waves of white danmaku at Rumia. I could hear worried sounds coming from Rumia, followed by her wincing in pain as her field of darkness disappated. Annette's spell ended early, her victory already assured. I was glad to see that Annette hadn't been hurt during the fight, if she sustained anymore damage, I would've gladly stepped in to fight along with her.

"Well, it seems we've won. What shall we take from them?" Alice asked, meeting up with Annette at my position. I crawled out of my hidey hole and looked around at the extra damage the two danmaku battles brought. There were large holes in the ground, in the trees, and even in the clouds. It was amazing what destruction this little game brings, despite it's "non-lethal" use.

"We're hungry and Luna needs medical attention. See who has what." Annette ordered, picking Rumia up by the arm and brutally escorting her over to us. I still held Luna in my arms, her weighty body tiring me out. She was still fast asleep, the shadows cast from nearby trees helping keep the sun away from her. I want her to be asleep while she was hurt, that way she didn't have to suffer near as much.

"All I have with me is a healing potion I made from plants and herbs." said Rumia, a childlike innocence in her voice. Somehow I doubt this girl was what she seemed to be.

"I have lamprey I suppose I could give you a discount on..." Mystia didn't want to admit defeat.

"Need we kick your ass again?" Annette readied a threatening air scythe in her hand, giving Mystia a glare of hate.

"Okay! Okay! I'll just give you my lunch then, should be enough for you three." Mystia retrieved a lunch box from I dare not ask where and opened it up for us to see. There was a multitude of leech-looking creatures inside, cooked and smelling rather nice actually.

"Alright, this passes...and smells pretty damn good. You cook this?" Annette asked, taking a quick bite of the fish.

"Cooked them myself, it's lamprey." said Mystia with a proud smile.

"Not bad kid, not bad.." Annette quickly munched on a one of the things from Mystia's lunch. Rumia had pulled out a small flask of red liquid from her dress pocket and healed Luna's leg, restoring her back to full health.

"You need to feed yourself, not feed Mystia's ego." commented Alice. Annette gave a shrug and continued eating the meal.

"Thanks, she really needed that." I thanked Rumia, still carrying Luna in my arms. Rumia kept silent, still sulking because she was bested. These childish youkai just don't seem to have anything better to do than fight people...

"We're going now. You can come with us if you want." I offered Rumia and Mystia.

"Nah, I think we're going to go play with the other humans. Come on, Rumia." Mystia leapt away from her perch in the trees. Both of the girls soared off into the forest, weaving through the shadowy trees in search of another target. I really wish they'd be a little more mature, I don't want to keep making enemies here. It seems like day after day there's hostility somewhere. They didn't seem like bad people, just misled and immature. Oh well, no point in wishing for something that wouldn't happen. I went back to comforting Luna as she smiled while she slept. Rumia's potion really helped with my sister's leg, something I'm quite thankful for.

"This lamprey stuff's pretty good!" Annette commented, still dining on the large vat of lamprey that were fried and sorted.

"That's one thing I have to give Mystia...she isn't a bad cook at all. Everyone goes to see her stand at festivals like the Tanabata and Hanami." replied Alice, taking a few lamprey from the lunch box.

"What are those?" I asked, unfamiliar with Japanese customs.

"Oh, yeah, you're not from around Japan are you?" Alice looked over at me with a surprised glance.

"People seem to forget that often..." commented Annette.

"Well the Hanami has already passed so no point in talking about that one, but the Tanabata is a celebration of Orihime and Hikoboshi, two deities of Japan. It should be coming soon if I remember right, a couple weeks, give or take." Alice educated. Annette seemed more interested in the fried lamprey but I was genuinely listening to the interesting lesson on Japanese culture. Plus, I'm always game for a good festival. We walked along a faded dirt trail for quite a while, Annette eventually finishing off the last of the food and giving us little to eat. I wasn't really hungry and didn't mind that much, but I can't imagine how hungry Luna's getting right now. My arms were starting to get worn out so I passed the unconcious girl to Annette.

"Man, why do I have to carry drooly?" Annette complained.

"Because my arms are tired and plus you ate most of the food." I shot back in my defense. I looked around at the high cliff face casting it's shadow over our dirt path. The trees, tall and prosperous, casted extra shadows down to us, enshrouding us in a nature-made veil. The wind died down so now it was an average summer day out, no scorching heat to melt us anymore. Up ahead, on a random offshoot of our faint dirt path, there was a two-floor home of wood and glass, corrupted by vines and crumpled from some unknown force.

"Who lives there?" I asked, pointing a quick finger at the dilapidated home.

"I've never seen that there before...I really couldn't tell you." Alice said with a hint of worry in her voice. I looked closer at it as I neared it, staring into the broken windows. Shadows danced inside, despite that I haven't moved a muscle since coming over here to look in. There was something in there, moving about inside.

"I wonder who lives in this place..." I mumbled to myself.

"Only one way to find out..." Annette held Luna out of the way, then kicked the front door down, wood splintering and falling apart. The door thrusted back from the kick, landing in the middle of the floor.

"Annette! Dammit, what've I told you about kicking doors down?" I scolded my sister.

Annette shrugged and sighed, "What? This place is a dump, that door was coming down anyways."

"We need to tread lightly here, these floors don't look safe." said Alice, being the first to go inside. I advised Annette to stay outside with Luna in case anything should happen. She really didn't want to stay outside, but under my command, she really didn't have too much of a choice. She knew what would happen if she disobeyed. The whole house was in dismay, fireplaces were falling apart brick by brick, dust and cobwebs covered any and all walls of the house, and the floorboards creaked viciously just from stepping on them.

"I don't like it here..." Alice whispered, her eyes observing ever detail of the interior, searching for something that was amiss.

"Something on your mind?" I asked, rummaging through a rotting footlocker.

"Yes, there's something dark dwelling in here. I just..." Alice was cut off by a large chunk of debris from upstairs falling through the ceiling and falling not far from her position.

I looked up from rummaging, looking at the dresser that had fallen from the upper floor. It was not even a couple inches away from flattening Alice.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alice quickly responded, looking upstairs next. I went back to looking through the random contents of the footlocker. I finally found something of interest buried deep at the bottom, a small journal to be exact. There were a few disturbing things written in it, stuff about being followed by shadows and the house "coming alive". Truthfully, I think someone's just had a few too many mushrooms from the forest, but who knows with Gensokyo, if this place is even from Gensokyo. I walked upstairs with Alice, watching her to make sure nothing bad happens. I don't have any real business here, but she seems to find the place of interest, so I'll play bodyguard for a few minutes if it means anything life-threatening can be avoided.

"Find anything yet?" I asked, tossing her my journal so she can read it. She'll probably come to the same conclusion I did about the fruity log entries, but whatever floats her boat.

"Nothing other than this." She hastily replied, referring to my journal.

"Hehehe..." A sinister voice chimed behind me in a hushed tone. I heard the loud creaking of wood in our room and saw dust falling from above Alice's position. I thought fast, leaping at Alice and just narrowly taking her out of the way of a collapsing ceiling. Though I did feel awkward as possible for resting atop Alice after shoving her out of the way. More creaking and moaning from the boards told us to get out and fast.

"No time for awkward feelings now, out the windows we go!" I kicked out a broken window and leaped out, rolling succesfully as I hit the ground.

"Show-off." Annette commented, sitting by a large oak tree. Alice just floated out of a hole in the ceiling and touched down near us. Annette got up along with the still-sleeping Luna. That girl could sleep all damn day if she was given the chance. But just as I was about to say something, she popped her weary blue head up.

"Ah, the drowsy one's awake. My job is done, stand for yourself cause I ain't carryin' you anymore." Annette turned Luna vertical and stood her up on the ground. Luna looked around trying to figure out where we were.

"Come on, let's get going, away from here." Alice motioned for us to follow, her dolls floating right behind her. Luna was still getting active and having trouble walking, leading me to offer her my shoulder until she could walk properly. I let her know about everything that' happened while she was unconcious. She was still too sleepy to really respond.

"Everything okay up there, Alice?" I asked, being in the back of the convoy.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Alrighty, well..." I was cut short when I saw our convoy flash into a whole different reality. It looked like we had just spontaneously warped back into Tokyo in Japan. People were walking around, tapping on their cell phones and cars flew by without slowing down a bit for anything.

"The hell?" I shouted, getting the attention of passers-by, most of them looking up from either a book or a cell phone. We warped back to the dusty dirt trail with the forest looking over us like it was waiting for us to return.

"I bet it's that damned Yukari, screwing with the boundaries again..." sighed an aggravated Annette. Just as she finished that sentance, a black portal opened up overhead Annette and dropped an apple atop her head.

"Oooh, food!" Annette just about took a bite of the apple, but it disappeared in a black portal as fast as it appeared.

"Damned hag!" shouted Annette.

"Yukari-san, show yourself." Alice commanded, looking around for her.

"Yes ma'am!" Yukari said sarcastically, perched atop a tree limb. Her purple dress almost looked black, the trees shading her with their sun-blocking leaves.

"Are you the one that brought down that house earlier?" I asked, looking up at her.

Yukari shrugged and said, "House? I couldn't tell you anything if I wanted to."

"And as for that little warp back into Tokyo?" Annette asked, crossing her arms and impatiently tapping her foot.

"Yeah, that was me," She gave a childish laugh, "but I don't know anything about a house, other than that I've been sleeping in mine."

"Hmph...so that's where you've been while that terror of a youkai has been ripping up anyone and everyone..." grumbled Annette, her bandage on her waist still there from when she was hurt on her way to the Hakurai Shrine.

"I haven't any idea what your talking about." Yukari gave an innocent laugh and vanished into one of her gaps, reappearing down at our level seconds later.

"Really now? Are you sure you aren't the one responsible for bringing that merciless youkai here?" asked Alice, slowly growing annoyed with Yukari's lies.

"I'm sure of it, I've been sleeping for a while. But I can tell you this, I'm not the only one in Gensokyo that's causing mayhem right now." Yukari again vanished into a gap in the floor, gone for good this time.

"I somehow don't think that she meant well in that last sentence..." I commented, looking around to make sure she wasn't anywhere around when I said that.

"Hey, isn't she friends with Yuyuko?" Annette asked Alice, walking behind her as usual.

"Yeah, though the two aren't seen together around here very often. They usually are together at Hakugyokurou. How do you know Yuyuko-chan?" Alice asked, Annette now walking beside her. The two got along surprisingly well, Annette usually doesn't work well with others but Alice was an exception.

"I met her while I was training at Reimu's shrine." Annette and Alice conversed while I comforted little Luna. Soon we reached a crossroads where Marisa was going to meet with us. We planted ourselves in this little T-section and waited patiently for the others, swapping stories and occasional gossip, general chit-chat keeping this little clearing of forest lively...

Meanwhile, at Yami's house back in the Human Village...

"Are we all ready?" Yami asked, carrying a bag of clothes for one of her friends to give to her at the school. Rena and Satomi, after passing out on one of Yami's couches, stretched and confirmed that they were ready to go. The day was just barely beginning but there was still much to do. Yami wanted to take the girls over to the school and catch up with Keine. The two were good friends and for good reasons. Both of them have lived quite long lives and run important businesses in the Human Village.

The girls walked through the busy marketplace and to the school. Not many youkai were around the marketplace as of the mornings, mostly humans and occasionally you could find Kana shopping for food supplies. Other than her, there generally wasn't too many youkai around. They entered the empty halls of the school and went forward to a stairwell leading to the second and third floor. There were hallways leading to the left and right, towards the schoolrooms. Along the rooms on the second floor were a cafeteria, a library, and Keine's office.

"So you two have already met Keine then?" asked Yami.

"Yes, she helped us get our apartments." replied Satomi, toying with her blue hair and adjusting the hairclips in it.

"She seemed really nice when we met her." added Rena.

Yami smiled and said, "Yeah, she's always had a soft side for humans. She's probably the safest person to be around for humans."

They walked around the corner and down a hall to the left, arriving at Keine's office where she sorted through papers and such for the town hall. Yami knocked on the closed door and Keine looked up to see who it was. She motioned for them to come in, the door unlocked.

"Yami, it's nice to see you again. I take it your here to drop off Hashime's clothes?" said Keine, talking while occasionally filling out paperwork.

"Yup, but she'd better be careful with this set, this is her last set of clothes." replied Yami, Keine directing her to where her friend was. Yami took the bag and followed Keine's directions and leaving for the downstairs.

"Looks like you're keeping busy." commented Rena, looking at the large stacks of paperwork.

Keine chuckled, looking up from her paper, "Yes, as usual. So how's Gensokyo been for you two?"

"It's very nice here, but it seems that alot of our friends are getting hurt often whenever they have to leave the village." said Satomi, a gloom in her voice like always.

"I imagine, anyone that leaves the village is subject to youkai attacks. The only reason nobody's attacked here is because I've erased the history of this village ever being here." informed the still-busy Keine.

"Erased history, huh? I wish the Reformed had something like that," Rena laughed, "I could erase all those papers I forgot to turn in during high school."

"I'm sure you would. I take it the...er...Reformed have alot of history to them as well don't they?" asked Keine.

"Yes. The Reformed have alot to do with the history of the outside world." informed the quiet Satomi.

"So, mind if I ask a question?" Keine looked up with a little hope in her eyes, as if looking at a savior of some sort. Neither girl seemed to care.

"The town hall's been swamping me with paperwork lately, and I barely have time to teach right now, so would you two like to be substitute teachers for a while? Just until I catch up with the work?" Keine asked gently.

"Normally we'd love to but we don't know anything about Gensokyo history." said Satomi.

Keine giggled and said, "Silly, you wouldn't be teaching Gensokyo history, you'd be teaching about the outside world."

"I don't kn-"

"We'll do it!" Rena cut off Satomi, completely ignoring her.

"Great, thanks so much! Well the first class starts in a couple minutes, I'll show you where to go. Each class lasts around two hours and you can just do one class for today so I can see how you'll do." Keine got up from her comfy desk chair and escorted the two to a classroom down the right hallway, leading into a small but crowded schoolroom. The chit-chat between classmates simmered down quickly and they all properly addressed Keine, books on their tables.

"Good morning class, today we're going to be doing something different. I have with me two outsiders here to fill in as substitute teachers. They will be teaching you about the outside world, so please welcome Rena Yoake and Satomi Yugure." Keine stepped away from the podium in the front of the room and let the two girls introduce themselves.

"Hello everyone, we'll be teaching for today about all the things going on in the outside world." Rena started by writing her and Satomi's names up on the chalkboard. She almost accidentally wrote down Satomi's real name, Natsumi, but caught herself before getting too far in. Keine sat down at her desk in the front left corner, silently observing.

"Just to make things easier on you all, there wont be any heavy textbooks or tedius homework..." Rena said, getting a loud cheer from the classroom.

"But it won't hurt to pay attention to what's happened in the outside world. Keeping up to date is never a bad thing." Satomi said with a voice louder than usual. She couldn't keep quiet with all the nervousness and excitement running around in her head.

"So, let's begin with a little history lesson. In the year 2102, scientists uncovered ways to play with how a person's made. All of us have a thing in us called genes that make up who we are..."

"...from what we like and what we hate, to the color of our hair and eyes." Satomi continued off Rena's sentence.

"After a while of playing with these genes, scientists came up with a way to give us powers that have only been heard of in fantasy. Powers over light, earth, wind, sound, and many others." continued Rena.

"After just a few people recieved these new genes, it started being quickly spread around the world, soon leaving the entire world changed for the better. These new genetically modified people are what are called Reformed." Satomi wrote down the name on the board while Rena continued the lesson.

"Now, remember this name well, cause it's important." Rena informed, the students jotting down notes even though there wasn't going to be any tests or anything as far as Rena and Satomi knew. Keine might have other plans though.

"We'll start off with teaching you all the basics of Reformed and go into detail about the different Reformed later." Satomi said with her voice starting to fade a little. The excitement and worry of messing up was starting to slowly diminish. There were only around fifteen kids in this class, but just that had Satomi on edge. She didn't want to embarass herself too much.

"Today, we'll cover technological advances, stuff like that. First off, we have a new invention in the world that helps connect nearly every single person in the world. We can share pictures of each other, talk with each other, and many other things using computers and such."

"Computers are little machines the outside world uses for storing information and playing games and interacting with others." Satomi informed the class about a computer and drew a rough sketch of what one looks like. Drawing with chalk was tricky for Satomi, but she was skilled enough with drawing to pull it off.

A student in the background raised their hand, Rena calling on the student and not knowing his name.

"My friend once told me something about a thing called a cell phone. Is that like a computer?" The student asked hesitantly.

Rena rolled her eyes and said, "Anymore, yeah a cell phone can do just about anything a computer can. They used to be just for talking but anymore, they can be used for just about anything. Anyways, moving on. These computers are all linked now to a thing called the Omniweb. It's what connects the world like a giant spider web."

"And the Omniweb isn't just for computers either. You can connect cell phones, cars, and gaming consoles to it too." Satomi said cryptically, confusing the students. One of the kids, without raising his hand, asked what a gaming console was.

"Well, it's like this...let me see if I still have it..." Rena dug around in her kimono's interior pockets for her portable gaming console that she had stashed away. She pulled out a rectangular plastic device with a flip-up screen. There were two screens, one to look on and one you could touch and it would do different things.

"This is a portable gaming console. Now, none of you will say a word about this to my friends that I have this, or they probably wont be happy that I've been holding out on them." Rena ordered, turning on the dual-screen gaming console.

"Normally gaming consoles aren't portable but Rena's is an exception." Satomi explained, writing the name "Nintendo DS" on the chalkboard.

"This was my great-great-great-grandfather's console. Now, raise your hand if you've ever heard of something called Nintendo." Rena looked up to see multiple hands raised up and briefly put back down. Rena stored her DS in her kimono pocket after shutting if off. The two spent the day educating the kids about gaming, television, Omniweb culture, and many other things already known by most outsiders. At the end of the two hours, they let everyone know what they were going to learn more about tomorrow, which would be the first made Reformed known as the Aeroslider.

"You two did very well! The students seem excited for tomorrow's lesson." Keine said with a cheery smile as she showed the two the way back to the office.

"We'll be sure to be here tomorrow, thanks for letting us teach!" Rena cheerily said, pumped up and energetic from the fun activity.

"Thank you for entertaining the kids while I finished some more paperwork! See you all tomorrow, take care." Keine waved goodbye as Rena and Satomi left the office and went back downstairs. Yami wasn't anywhere to be found, but Rena and Satomi had other things that needed to be tended to before anything else. They barely remembered the way, but they found the hospital and asked where to find Stella at. She needed to come home now that she was healed up. They asked for directions and were led to a long hallway on the second floor. Stella rested on a hospital bed, talking to a girl with green hair and a checkered dress.

"Hello you two, it's nice to see you two." Stella greeted Rena and Satomi with a cheery smile.

"Hi Stella! Who's your friend?" Rena asked looking over to Yuuka.

"That's Yuuka. She's kept me company while I recovered." Stella informed, looking to Yuuka who was brushing off her parasol.

"Nice to meet ya Yuuka-san!" Rena happily greeted her.

"Pleasure to meet you." Satomi gave a gentle bow to her.

"Hello, nice to meet you two." Yuuka smiled to them. Something about her had Satomi even more on edge than before, but Rena was able to calmly chat with her, so Satomi tried to ease herself into talking to the sweet girl. After a while of talking, somehow always about flowers, Stella followed the girls out, Yuuka departing for her favorite flower garden. Satomi looked over her shoulder one last time as they left, Yuuka giving her a peaceful smile that just didn't seem right to Satomi...

At Marisa's house...

"I'm telling you, I haven't the slightest clue as to where it went!"

"And I still say you do know where it is, ze!"

Aurora and Marisa argued over a lost witch hat, nowhere to be found. They searched all around the cleaned house, no hall or room containing any sort of hat. The only hint they had was a thumping noise that sounded like it was coming from the roof. Melody tried her best to keep the two from killing each other while May silently snuck out of the house to see what the noise on the roof was. A certain ice fairy was perched up on the roof, accidentally kicking her feet on the walls of the house. She also was holding onto a certain witch's hat, the wind trying to pull it out of her hands.

"What're you doing up there, fairy?" May bluntly asked, standing in front of where Cirno was perched.

"Listening to the morons fight inside." Cirno gave a childish laugh and floated down to May's level, hovering effortlessly around her. Cirno kept her distance from the heat May radiated.

"So you're the one that took my hat! Give me that!" Marisa snatched the hat from Cirno and gently brushed it off.

"What're you doing here, Cirno?" Melody politely asked.

"I'm hunting this mean youkai that hurt me last night!" Cirno replied with her hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face.

"Oh, you mean the one with the spears?" asked May, holding her hair back to keep it from flying into her face. The wind had started to pick up something fierce now.

"Yeah! That one!" Cirno chirped.

"That thing's long gone, we took care of it last night. That thing's as good as moon cheese." Marisa gloated with a cheery smile.

"What? How did a weakling like you beat him?" asked a surprised Cirno.

Marisa's grin faded to an angry expression, "Weakling? Says the one that couldn't even take down a lousy youkai!"

"He wasn't playing fair, that's the only reason I lost!" Cirno replied in defense.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the only reason you lost, weakling." Marisa scoffed.

"I was going to fight that stupid youkai, but I think I'll fight you instead!" Cirno prepared a barrage of ice bullets behind her.

"You can fight but you will lose!" Marisa shot back.

"Now everyone, let's not fight, we need to save that for the enemies ahead. Here, let's see if we can schedule a fight for tomorrow, would that work?" Melody tried to play peacekeeper, a role usually saved for Stella, but she wasn't past holding up the fort for a fallen sister. The witch and the fairy still argued, despite Melody's efforts.

"It's illogical to argue over a small factor. Let's proceed, with or without the small one." said Aurora, hoping that she wouldn't have to resort to violence to avoid further violence.

Marisa gave Cirno a menaching glare and Cirno stuck her tongue out at Marisa.

"She's not even worth it, Marisa, let's go, the other's are probably waiting." May added. Marisa just grumbled and walked ahead of the others, tempted to just turn around and start pelting the ice fairy with danmaku, but Melody kept her calm long enough for them to distance themselves from her. Marisa knew that Cirno wouldn't be able to get inside, there was a thick magical barrier set around her home that kept any and all magical creatures away.

"Stupid fairies, no matter how strong they get, they'll always be morons, ze..." Marisa complained.

"Vent all you need to, it'll help calm you down..." Melody continued to ease Marisa out of her aggravation.

"She should be a therapist." Aurora commented to May, walking next to her at the back of the convoy. The dirt trail was thin, hardly visible under the looming trees that kept sunlight from hitting the forest floor. Occasionally there'd be the sounds of birds chirping and frogs ribbiting, but other than that, it was a peaceful trip. The animals played around them, the birds chased each other playfully, and the huge pus-filled mushrooms glowed with most excellency today.

Aurora tapped on Marisa's shoulder, getting her attention, and asked, "What can you tell me about these mushrooms?"

"Ah, well...erm...alot of mentally unprepared people go nuts when they get near them," Marisa turned her head away, "At least...I think that's what they do..."

Aurora, interested by these radiant mushrooms, used her powers to convert her arm into a chemical rifle with an extraction needle. She jammed the needle in the mushroom and began absorbing the magical qualities of the strange fungus.

"Okay then...just do that and see what happens then..." Marisa slowly backed away from Aurora, as did May and Melody. Anytime Aurora does something weird, everyone keeps their distance, just in case something bad happens. Aurora raised her arm back up, the extraction needle slowly exiting the mushroom and a vibrant green thunder arcing through her arm.

"Interesting..." Aurora muttered, reverting her hand to normal. Aurora could feel the magical energy pulsing through inside of her, her computer-like brain shutting down any effects the mushroom had on her mind.

"Well then, moving along now..." Marisa began walking down the dirt trail again. Slowly but surely, the dirt trail faded away, making their path unknown even to Marisa.

"Marisa, what would it take to get you to teach me about danmaku?" Aurora asked bluntly, the shade of the trees above hiding her face. The further they went, the more their vision was obscured by overgrown trees. Shadows started to dance as the wind blew around the hanging branches, making the road even harder to see.

"I suppose I can teach you...for a price." Marisa gave a sly grin, then almost rammed her head into a low hanging branch.

"If I recall properly, you owe a favor after forcing my brother into labor." Aurora shot back fast and without hesitation.

"I suppose so. Consider the debt repayed then..." Marisa began explaining the basis and goal of danmaku, May and Melody both standing back and watching their surroundings while Marisa lectured Aurora about how danmaku works. At the end of the training, Marisa had a small battle with Aurora, no spell cards added. Aurora quickly mastered changing her weapons midfight to add more danmaku to her style. Marisa had no problem ducking and dodging out of the way of her attacks, but Aurora still had much to learn about the dodging part.

"I'll have Reimu give you some spell cards once we're back in the village. Not bad for a beginner, just work on your dodging." said Marisa, adjusting her hat and looking closely for the now-absent dirt road that she could've sworn was there a couple minutes ago.

"Excuse me, Marisa, but do you know where we're at?" Melody politely asked, looking around for any hints of the dirt road.

"Yeah, let me just take a look in the air here." Marisa zoomed above the tree line, smacking her head on a tree branch on the way up. She looked around for any sort of a landmark she usually sees on her way to the village. There was nothing but tall mountains and thick brush for miles upon miles.

"Crap...this isn't good..." Marisa winced to see that there wasn't a single way to tell where they were. A silent sweat bead flowed down Marisa's face as she rocketed back down to the forest floor.

"We're not too far," Marisa took a worried gulp, "ahead."

"We're lost aren't we?" asked May.

Marisa took a long sigh and said, "Yeah, we're in the middle of nowhere..."

"It's alright, maybe we'll see someone we know and ask them for directions." suggested Melody. The other three shrugged and continued moving in a random direction, the trees all looked the same so they couldn't tell if they were actually going anywhere or if they were walking in circles. The path wasn't anywhere to be seen and nobody had the right sense of direction for wandering around in the maze-like forest. The beauty of the forest faded into danger when they became lost in it...

Meanwhile, in the Human Village...

"I really hate this job..." Grace sighed to herself, cleaning up a mess of spilled sake on the floor. The Drunken Oni was really living up to it's drunken part, there was a mess of older men drinking their asses off and making a mess of the bar. They were paying customers so nobody could really kick them out. Grace was forced to endure the constant cleaning of sake and the occasional pervert that would stare up her skirt. After cleaning a load of sake and other foodstuffs off the floor, she moved back to the kitchen where more orders waited to be handed out to different tables. First was a large order of miso soup and tonkatsu. That went to a large family of schoolkids here with their parents.

The second order was katsudon with fresh mint tea, going to one of elderly men that spilled sake all over the floor earlier. Grace wanted to eat the meal and hand him the leftovers for making her clean up his damned mess but she resisted. Delivering the food and heading back to the kitchen, there was one last order to fill out, then she could rest for a moment. The last order was just a cup of black tea, shipped to a girl writing at her table. Grace gave her the tea and noticed a peculiar sound hitting her ears.

"Is that...techno I hear?" Grace accidentally asked aloud.

"Ah, you're probably hearing my synthesis music, sorry about that." The girl lowered the music volume on a small portable listening device.

"Where'd you get that at? I thought this place was low-tech." asked Grace, taking a seat across from the girl.

"I got it from the Kourindou. I can't go a day without my music." She smiled to Grace, continuing her writing.

"Interesting. I'm Grace by the way, sorry to intrude or anything." Grace introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you Grace-san. I'm Hieda no Akyu, but you can just call me Hieda." Hieda held out a friendly hand to Grace. Grace kindly shook her hand and began trying to read the paper Hieda was writing on. Grace was very illiterate as far as English went, but she could somehow read fluent Japanese no problem, stating it was "something passed on by mom".

"Perfect Memento in Strict Sense...interesting name." Grace read aloud the title of Hieda's book.

"It's a chronical of Gensokyo's history. It's sorta a past time I've had going on for around 1200 years now." Hieda informed, thinking nothing of her incredibly long-lasting chronicle.

"H-h-how long now?" Grace wanted to be sure she heard right.

"Oh, sorry, you're not from around here are you?"

"Not exactly, I'm what you all call an outsider."

"Oh my, I never would've guessed! You fit in pretty well for an outsider," Hieda gave a soft giggle, "Well, I'm actually a reincarnate of a long line of chroniclers. It's strange, I know, but it's how the Children of Maire are."

"Okay, well this is Gensokyo after all, so I'm ready to believe just about anything." Grace let out a soft laugh, "You could tell me the air was red and I'd believe you."

"It actually was red for a while somewhere in the past."

Then there was an awkward silence.

"Hehe...well then...I'll be damned..." Grace sighed, trying to keep a smile going. "Do tell about this incident, I kinda wanna know how the air can turn red."

"Well, how about you come by the bookstore after you're done working and I'll give you a little taste of the newest chronicle?"

"Sounds great to me."

"Grace, we've got another two orders!" A distant voice shouted from the kitchen.

"Looks like it's back to work for me," Grace sighed and got up from the soft leather seat, "It was nice meeting you, Hieda. Which bookstore was it you wanted me to go to again?"

"It's the Cosmic Relapse, down by the southern marketplace. Take care, see you then." Hieda smiled and went back to writing. Grace worked hard and long to fill out orders and clean up messes, truly feeling demeaned by all this manual labor as a maid, but she knew it was helping pay for much needed food. So far they weren't TOO far down on money, Corey had enough to last them a while longer, but a little income doesn't hurt anyone.

"Okay, see ya later." Grace waved goodbye to her boss as she left the tavern, already changed back into her usual green camisole, brown leather half-jacket, and jean skirt. She had to try and remember how to get down to the marketplace, she'd only been there a couple times. A twist and a turn later, she found herself in the middle of the marketplace, youkai and humans alike trodging around the crowded square. Grace observed the signs closely for a place called Cosmic Relapse. Halfway down the line of stores, she found the store and entered, meeting Hieda in there like expected.

"Hello again, Grace-san, glad you made it." Hieda sat at a desk surrounded by different books and reference sheets.

"Heh, just call me Grace. Nice setup you have here." Grace commented, looking at the different scattered books laying around.

"Sorry, it's just a little bit of a mess here." Hieda shied a little, trying to hastily clean up the mess of books.

"It's fine, don't worry so much. It's not like I'm here on important business or anything, I'm just here for some history lessons." Grace sat down next to Hieda and read off a little from the Perfect Memento while Hieda cleaned up a little. Once the two were ready, Hieda began going over the Scarlet Mist Incident, where Remilia Scarlet coated Gensokyo in a blood-red mist to block out the sun. The summer ended up with low temperatures because no sunlight could reach the earth. The only reasoning Remilia had was "that she wanted to be able to play and party during the day.". Grace couldn't believe that Remilia was so selfish, but it was the truth. One thing led to another and Grace ended up listening to not only the Scarlet Mist Incident, but three other similar incidents. It didn't take long for Grace to become interested in Gensokyo history, wearing the night away with exchanging tales and Hieda even learned a little about the outside world as well. Though Grace had a completely different subject to talk about as far as the outside realm go, they hardly spoke a thing about Reformed or the Omniweb or anything like that, but rather of what the "underground life" was like.

"So remember, muscle cars are for power and tuners are for speed. Two completely different things, no matter what anyone else says, they aren't the same thing." Grace educated Hieda much about how life is for a former street-rat.

"These car things are interesting...I wish I could see one for myself one day." Hieda laughed at the thought of machines ferrying humans. Of course, there were only as far as ships in Gensokyo, none of which were made of machine or metal.

"They're fun just as long as you don't hit something with them," Grace took a look outside to the crowded town square. Hieda occasionally needed to tend to customers coming in for book shopping and catching up with other friends. Grace got to meet alot of new people thanks to Hieda. She could already see them being good friends...

Meanwhile...somewhere in the depths of the Forest of Magic...

"Target sighted..." Aurora whispered to herself, aiming her chemical rifle, loaded with that strange magical mushroom juice she extracted earlier. Her target was a certain bug-commanding youkai she thought would be the perfect test-dummy for her new chemical.

"No, Aurora, don't! She's not harming anyone, in fact, she looks sad, don't hurt her." Melody held down Aurora's chemical rifle, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes that sank what little of Aurora's heart remained. Aurora rolled her eyes and retracted her rifle, getting up from her cliffside perch and following her down to meet up with the youkai. Melody commanded May and Marisa to stand by while Melody tried to make peace with Wriggle.

"What's wrong?" Melody asked, moving a lock of her long brown hair out of the way to better see the sulking Wriggle.

"What do you care, human?" Wriggle shot back with a depressed sigh.

"Cause I care. Come on, what's wrong?" Melody asked again.

"Do you really wanna know?" Wriggle held her head up to look at Melody. Wriggle immediately identified her as one of the people that attacked her the night of Remilia's party. Wriggle was trying to convince herself to attack her to pay her back for that night, but she was too depressed to want to attack anything.

"Of course, silly. Go on, I'm here to listen." Melody gave Wriggle a heart-warming smile and sat down in front of Wriggle. She was a little worried about the numerous bugs crawling near her, but she vowed that she wouldn't scream and run.

"Some stupid youkai ruined my home and now I can't find anywhere else to stay..." Wriggle quickly explained, looking back down with a sad expression.

"Well, since we're here in the forest together, how about we both try finding you a new home?"

"If you want to try to help, I'd like that..." Wriggle said with a small smile.

"Okay, come on then." Melody motioned for Wriggle to follow as she stood up. Wriggle joined the group officially and Marisa and May joined the group.

"Aw, not the annoying witch!" Wriggle complained at the sight of Marisa.

"Hey, watch it bug boy, I'm not past eating fried firefly." Marisa replied.

"I'm not a boy! I'm a girl!" said an aggravated Wriggle.

"Easy you two, we're on the same side here." Melody tried to calm down the two. Marisa rolled her eyes and stayed at the back of the group whereas Wriggle stayed alongside Melody up front. The two made idle chit-chat while walking along, looking for a new home for Wriggle.

"Having control of insects and arthropods is actually quite the responsibility. Crops and flowers require constant pollination and also need to be properly fed and maintained." Aurora educated Melody while also staying on Wriggle's good side. If they were lucky, Wriggle could easily be their ticket to the crossroads where they were to meet up with the others.

"It is, but alotta times, the bugs do their own thing without me telling them to. I just make them come to me when I need them." said Wriggle, playing with a centipede that was perched on her shoulder.

"I'm sure it's nice having bugs around you so much. You'll never get lonely with them around." Melody added warmly.

"So just how many youkai like her are actually around here?" May asked, trying to keep Marisa happy.

"There's so many of them anymore that I've lost count anymore. Normally there's around ten or so around here in the Forest of Magic, but in other places there's just too many to count..." sighed Marisa.

"Well, at least some of them can be befriended." said May, looking to Melody and Wriggle having fun with a group of bees. The bees were doing a sort of synchronized dance in midair as they flew forwards. Even Aurora got a kick out of watching the bugs play and dance.

The group came to a clearing of rocks with a cliff hanging over a large chunk of the clearing.

"How's this, Wriggle?" Melody asked, looking at all the ants and such crawling along the side of the cliff's underside. The shade was blocked out in here, making it damp and cool with many rocks that looked flat enough to sleep on.

"It's nice, but I might get sick alot being out in the open here, especially in winter." Wriggle speculated, her bugs looking around and some of them coming back only to shake their tiny heads in dismissal of this new home.

"Really? Aren't most bugs resistant to the cold or something like that?" an aggrivated Marisa asked.

"For your information, not all of us can stand harsh cold!" Wriggle shot back to the witch.

"That's okay, there'll be more places to look. Come on, let's keep looking." Melody motioned for Wriggle to come.

"So do you know anything about things that go on around here?" Melody asked, looking for some of the latest news to entertain herself with.

"Well, I saw this weird house somewhere around here not long ago. It was old and falling apart and when I had my bugs go inside to check it out, they ran out really fast." said Wriggle.

Aurora was interested by this, not speaking or asking questions, but listening intently with her holograms recording the audio to listen to later. She had her mind on other things, like how she was going to go about her spell cards later.

"Really? What'd you do after that?" asked Melody.

"I went in myself and didn't see anything to be scared of for a while. Then I went upstairs and when I got up there, there was a huge, " Wriggle held up her hands in emphasis, "and scary shadow up there watching me with glowing red eyes. It was so creepy, creepier than any bug I ever seen! I ran out of there and said I'd never go back."

"Maybe it was that damned gap-hag, Yukari." suggested Marisa.

"No, I don't really think it was her. I've never seen Yukari make shadow people. I think she's been sleeping anyways." replied Wriggle, her bugs following her in a single-file line. It was cute to Melody, but the other girls were a little creeped out by it. They neared the next home they would try. It was a large-mouth cave with a light shining at the near end of it. Going inside and avoiding the active insects inside, the skylight was revealed to be a medium-sized hollowed out tree stump that had walls of around a couple yards. It was perfect because the stump was at an angle, blocking any rain or snow access, but letting sunlight in.

"I love it here! I think this'll be just great." Wriggle exclaimed happily. Melody was happy as well, glad to help a nice girl like Wriggle.

"I'm glad you like it. Hopefully this will be a better home for you. Now, do you think I can ask you a favor?" asked Melody in her usual polite tone.

"Of course, whatcha need?" Wriggle asked, inviting her bugs to come in and bask in the warm sunlight drifting in from outside. It wasn't hot enough to cook them on a stonefloor-stove luckily.

"We need to find Tachi Intersection somewhere around here, do you think you can lead us there?"

"Oh, sure. My bugs can show me back here later. Let's go." Wriggle led the way, Marisa giving a silent cheer as she hid in the back of the convoy. Things were starting to look up for the group, going from lost in the woods to finding their way back and with a new friend too.

"And this is exactly why diplomacy with wildlife isn't a stupid idea..." Aurora noted, throwing her voice to Marisa more than anyone.

"Okay, so I should go around asking a caterpillar how to get around the forest if I get lost then?" Marisa smarted off with a childish smirk.

"Hey! My best friend's a caterpillar!" Wriggle shouted back to her.

"Yeah, and my best friend is a bird-brained raven that lives in hell..." Marisa replied under her breath. Despite Marisa's obvious hostility to the Forest's wildlife and Wriggle in general, their trip was brief and they were already back on the main road, making their way to the intersection...

Meanwhile, by the Misty Lake...

Boom!

"That's another headshot..." Corey whispered to himself, perched up on a rocky alcove and sniping birds for tonights dinner. He'd been up there for most of the day, picking off birds that wandered around, picking them off and flying down to scoop them up for dinner, storing them in a rocky pit near his position. He fired again at a large black-bird, scoring a shot right through it's eyes.

"Damn, that was a good shot." Corey complimented himself, swooping down to the beach and picking up the dead bird.

"Damn, bird! You's a chubby one aren't ya?" Corey poked the bird's belly, holding onto the bird by it's stiffened wing. He zoomed back up to his perch and aimed his eyes through the cold scope of his sniper. Occasionally, just for kicks, he'd fire at fairies and occasional passers-by just to see what reaction he could get out of them. It was a long and boring day for him until a certain hell-raven was seen flying by.

"Ooh, this just got fun..." Corey aimed closely and grazed his shots off Reiuji, skimming her back and wings. She looked around frantically trying to find who was shooting at her, or if it was all in her head. Corey could hardly even be seen in his little pit where he sniped, hidden by thick-plated rocks. Finally, after confusing Reiuji to the point of almost crying, he swooped down and made himself known as the sniper. Afterwords, just to show no hard feelings, he gave Reiuji a big hug, cheering her up and relieving her of confusion.

"So how've you been Reiuji?" Corey asked, standing near her and just now noticing that she was actually taller than he was. Probably more physically powerful too, but Corey had no intentions of getting into a fist-fight with a hell-raven.

"I've been good, feels nice to come outside for a little while. Master needed some food for cooking tonight, so I went to the village. What're you doing out here?" replied the happy hell-raven. She liked getting to see friends other than the ones she was accustomed to down in the underground.

"Glad to hear that. I'm just out here shooting down tonight's dinner." Corey said, showing off his sniper to Reiuji.

"Unyu? What's a sniper?" Reiuji asked, looking closely at Corey's arm mounted weapon. Thanks to Reiuji's control rod, the two looked like they were long-lost relatives, both being hyper-lethal, simple-minded, and having guns mounted on their arms.

"This..." Corey quickly raised his rifle and fired, letting out a loud noise that startled Reiuji. A white and grey bird plopped down on the ground not far from them, deader than dead.

"Ooh, that one went right down the spine!" Corey admired his brutal shot.

"So you shoot it and it kills things?" Reiuji asked bluntly.

"Yup, that's the basis. I'd let you try it out if I knew how to take it off." Corey noted, storing his gun back into his flesh.

Reiuji aimed her control rod at one of the birds floating high above the beach. She fired a danmaku laser that deep-fried the bird above them to nothing but a charred skeleton of a bird. It dropped down to the beach, scattering it's bones everywhere.

"You're supposed to kill it...not incinerate it..." Corey noted aloud.

"There's a difference?" Reiuji asked.

In the distance a pink and blue girl slowly flew over to Corey and Reiuji.

"There you are, Okuu, I was wondering what happened." The girl said as she approached Reiuji.

"Sorry master, I was talking with my friend, Corey-kun."

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am, I'm..."

"Corey Sairif." The girl cut Corey off.

"I take it you know..."

"Nope, never seen you before in my life."

"Then how do you..."

"I read minds." The girl cut Corey off for the third time in a row. Corey shook his mind and cleared it of what he could.

"You're a strange mind to read." The girl gave a skittish smile.

Corey gave a hardy laugh and said, "That's cause I usually speak before I think."

"I see, well since you've already met Okuu, I'll introduce myself. I'm Satori Komeiji, nice to meet you Corey." Satomi offered her hand. Corey shook her hand hardily, observing the peculiar tentacle monster wrapped around her.

"Likewise good friend. I'm particularly fond of your little winged furnace friend. She's really sweet." Corey gave a cheery laugh and Reiuji gave Corey a big hug like he did before. Satori giggled seeing the two so happy, it wasn't often that Reiuji made friends like this.

"So what are you doing out here, if I might ask?" Satori asked, unable to delve into Corey's simplistic mind.

"Been sniping birds for dinner. Don't worry, I'm not gonna snipe your bird, she's too nice to snipe." Corey showed off his sniper once again.

"Interesting. Is that a third leg?" Satori asked.

"Nope, this is a sniper, a high-speed bullet shooter." Corey displayed by doing what he did before and randomly firing, putting much trust in his aim. This time though, he heard the distant sound of glass smashing.

"The hell?" A distant young vampire shouted. Corey looked over to see what he feared. He just shot out a window at the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Aww shit, that ain't good..." Corey sighed, retracting his rifle.

"Me thinks you'd better start running." Satori laughed.

"Y-yeah I'd better get the fuck outta here! See ya later, people! Take care!" Corey shouted as he rocketed off, snatching his birds from their hidden cliffside pouch and taking off for home before Remilia saw him.

"He's an interesting one. Alot like you, Okuu." Satori flew alongside Okuu back down into the geyser leading underground.

"He's so nice! I like him, I hope he stays for a long time." Okuu cheered happily, carrying a bag of food with her.

"I'm sure he will, Okuu...I'm sure he will..."

Meanwhile, at the Tachi Intersection at the Forest of Magic...

"Finally!" Annette shouted impatiently, seeing the second half of their group approaching. I saw May and immediately ran to her, picking her up in a big bear hug and repeating over and over how much I've missed her. Wriggle had already departed, just barely seeable in the distance. Everyone caught up with each other and once we were ready we headed out for the village, Alice and Marisa taking lead. It was nice to have everyone back together and it's gonna be even nicer to get back to the village. I wanna get home, have Kana make me a nice cup of tea and relax for a little while...

* * *

Well everyone, that's another chapter wrapped up, sorry if there's more grammatical errors, not my cup of black tea if I say so myself. Hope everyone likes the chapter. I might not get another one up for a while, so be prepared for a long wait, hopefully I'll get around to it some more later ^^ take care everyone and good night.

Btw, Skyrim+Touhou Music=BEST IDEA EVER!


	10. Chapter 10: Yin & Yang of Stress & Ease

Chapter 10: The Yin and Yang of Stress and Ease

It was late when we returned home, the hike to the village taking much longer than what we had anticipated. My legs were killing me after such a walk, and many of the others complained as well, including the grounded Alice and Marisa. They were the only ones that knew the way and some of us couldn't fly so they had to remain with us. Once we were in the village, Alice and Marisa went their own ways after I had thanked them several times open. Alice took it to heart while Marisa let it boost her ego a little higher.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see this place..." Annette moaned, passing out at the kitchen table along with Luna. Both of them started snoring loudly and were quickly shipped to their rooms by Corey.

"Have fun here with the others?" I asked Grace as she sat next to Kana, both of them sipping tea together.

Grace giggled and said, "We had more than enough fun for today."

"Indeed." added Kana.

Corey, as he entered the kitchen, said "Oh yeah, Reimu stopped by sometime last night, she wanted you to come to the shrine." he looked at me, his brown hair covering half of his eyes.

"Well, it's gonna have to wait til tomorrow, I'm too pooped to do it today..." I sighed, leaning back against the nearby wall.

"There's still a little time left to go, why hold off til tomorrow what you can still do today?" said Melody, her innocent voice still kind and soothing despite her dry throat.

"Because the only thing that surpasses human stupidity is human laziness." Corey added with a logical, if not lazy, voice.

After a round of tea between our cheery and weary group, we head to our respective bedrooms, candelight being the only thing keeping the rooms lit. I went to my room and took my socks off, storing them under my futon. My feet were coated in dirt and calices, hanging them off the edge of the futon.

"You okay?" asked May, crawling over to me and sitting next to me.

"I'm fine, how about you?"

"I'll manage." She calmly said, moving behind me and rubbing my shoulders. I felt a shiver of delight go down my spine as I slowly laid my head back onto May's shoulder.

"Someone's feeling extra sweet tonight." I commented.

"We've all been worked hard, especially you. Plus, isn't it my job to take care of you?"

"I thought that was my sister's job?"

"Oh yeah, I suppose it is. Well my work's done th-"

"Naaaahh, don't stop!" I interrupted her as she stopped massaging my shoulders.

May giggled and returned to "work", eventually lulling both her and I to sleep on the futon.

It was early morning when May got out of the bed, waking me up as well. We walked to the kitchen where the morning was already under-way. Kana was working hard again to appease us, still wearing her cheery smile, Grace and Melody talked about work, and Annette was trying to sell us all back massages. I had to scold her for trying to leech money from the others, but that didn't stop her from trying even more to get money. In the middle of breakfast, a certain monochromatic witch came bursting forth through the front door.

"Hi everyone! I'm here to kidnap another one of ya!" She cheered from the kitchen doorway, Corey widening his eyes at her. Marisa looked down at him and smirked.

"Uh-uh, don't you even fuckin' look at me, I was your slave last time, you can take someone else!" Corey shot at her, backing away from her.

"Relax, commando, you're safe today. I need Will today, ze." Marisa pointed a lazy finger at me, then motioned for me to come. I gave May a quick kiss goodbye and followed Marisa outside. Originally, I was going to have Corey drop me off at the shrine, but Marisa offered to take me on her broomstick, saying it would be faster than the "metal wing-thing that lacks brakes.". I was skeptical about it, but sighed and shrugged as usual.

"I hope everything's alright." I said, entering the clouded sunlight with her.

"I'd be lyin' to ya if they weren't, ze. It's not often Reimu-chan directly calls for people to come to her shrine, da ze." Marisa patted on the back of her broom as she boarded it, wanting me to get on. The wood was hard and I was forced to hold onto her waist, which felt a little more than awkward for me. But I digressed and enjoyed what little I could of the speedy ride to the shrine.

"Our turn to kidnap someone!" Rena cheerily shouted, looking towards Annette, "Annette, you're gonna come with us and be a good role model for the little kids today!"

Annette opened one of her closed eyes and said, "Da fuck? I didn't agree to shit today."

"You should do it Annette, you'll get to show how strong you are to an open crowd and we really need help teaching the kids about Aerosliders." Satomi said a little more politely.

"Depends on what's in it for me." Annette shot back with a smirk.

"Do it for the good of the children Annette, you have a little heart left somewhere in there." Satomi gave her such pitiful and sorrowful eyes that she had no choice but to surrender. The three of them made their way to the school, the morning sun shining bright on the empty marketplace. There was still water in the cracks of the stone floor, glistening in the sunlight.

"Where is everyone?" Rena wondered, looking around for any signs of life.

"Probably being smart and sleeping in, something I wish I could be doing right now..." Annette mumbled distressingly. The school was open but the students were still showing up, some taking their time showing up and some sleeping in the classroom. Rena and Satomi already started writing stuff up on the boards. A few of the kids that weren't sleeping or gossiping were taking notes of the things on the board. Once the bell rang from high above them, the lessons began.

"Good morning everyone!" Rena cheered happily.

Some of the students greeted the substitute warmly and some just groaned mismatched words.

"Today we are going to have a lesson about the Aeroslider, one of the most common Reformed, and we even have a professional Aeroslider with us today. Later on in the lesson, we'll go outside where I have a few test targets set up and our professional, Annette, will show everyone how powerful even just a basic Reformed can be.

"Greetings Annette-sensai!" The kids cheered.

"Sup little people?" Annette casually replied, leaning back on the wall with her head only tilting up a little to talk to the class.

"Alright, so the first thing we'll go over is the basics of an Aeroslider. One of the main things," Rena began drawing a picture of a wind-scythe and how the razor-sharp wind covers up part of the arm, "Is the powerful wind scythe."

"It's heavily compressed air that, after a few changes, can form into a blade that can be as long as the user can make." added Satomi. Rena and Annette both showed their wind scythes, one in each arm, the kids giving admiring looks to the sharp weapons. Annette's scythes were much longer and more elegant than Rena's.

"They can be fired as well as wielded." continued Satomi as she displayed the two's blades. After a few moments of talking, the two girls finally sheathed their blades and readied their next weapons which were two spheres of dark storm energy, thunder coursing around the ball.

"This is a basic Aeroslider storm sphere. It's more dangerous and powerful than the wind scythe. It compresses all air and stray plasma molecules nearby and puts them in a sort of shell that can expand and shrink at will." explained the knowledgable Satomi. Her knowledge of the outside world fascinated even the still sleepy students that would much rather sleep.

Annette stored away her storm sphere and said, "There's also other stuff we can do too, like changing weather patterns and calling down lightning strikes."

The girls spent a good amount of time just discussing what effects Aeroslider's can have on the enviroment, from draining air from their surroundings to making air bubbles underwater. Some of the talk was a little biased but still trustworthy.

"Now, let's go outside for a little demonstration." Rena led the class down the hall, downstairs, and outside to the school's backyard. The spare wooden tables and such usually taking up the yard was moved to the side, making room for six targetboards like you'd see in archery.

"Observe." Rena and Satomi signaled for Annette to start. Annette's first barrage was that of wind scythes, tossing payloads of the boomerang-shaped blades at the first two targets, eventually making her scythes bigger and bigger as she fired away. The kids were watching with widened eyes, most of them looking at the damage it was dealing to the targets. It wasn't long before the targets were nothing but scraps of hay on the ground. Next, Annette readied her storm spheres, casting fewer of them than her scythes, but enough to reduce the targets to rubble. As a grand finale, she summoned a storm of thunder that assaulted anything still remaining around. The guards wandering around the town gave her worried looks, but Keine and Rena assured them that it wasn't going to hurt anyone or anything.

"That's all people, hope you liked it cause I ain't doing it again..." Annette sighed, tired already from exhausting her capabilities. Using so much of her powers quickly took her breath away, literally. Rena and Satomi gave a quick lesson about what overusing powers can do to people. Once the three of them were finished, the kids clapped for Annette. As expected, Annette let this go to her head, letting out a childish smirk while she soaked up the praise.

"Alright class, that's all for today. Go have breakfast and meet up later for your next class." Keine directed the class. The hungry students fled for elsewhere while Keine thanked Rena and the others for another great day of class. After a cheery conversation with the girls, Keine made her way back to her office to continue managing papers.

"Hey miss..." A guard approached Annette. His silver hair hung loosely out of his helmet and it looked like his belted tunic had a hole or two in it. He was a little of age, probably mid-forties but that was on-the-spot judgement.

"Yeah?" Annette asked.

"I saw your moves back there," He had a shakiness in his voice, "I was wondering if you wanted a job in fighting."

"Hell yeah! What do I get to fight? Bring it!" Annette's eyes widened and voice hightened.

"We have some odds and ends job sweeping youkai off the outer roads and a couple jobs as an escort. If you're really interested, meet me at the town hall tomorrow, noon would be fine."

"You're on dude, I'll be there. Ooh, May's gonna love this!" Annette was already running off for the apartments, not a word spared for Rena or Satomi.

"Oh boy do you have your work cut out for you now." Rena snickered aloud.

The guard gave a raised brow and asked, "Why's that?"

"The only thing that surpasses her cocky, hot-headed attitude is probably her breast size..." Satomi gloomily noted, looking the other way as to not make eye-contact with the guard.

Shrugging and sighing, the guard quickly made his way back to his patrol route. Rena and Satomi were about ready to head home when a distant sobbing caught their attention. A young girl with bright orange hair sobbed softly at a distant alleyway near the school. She had on a black and vanilla dress with a peach-colored vest and headband. Her stockings were as black as a moonless night and her shoes were as well. She couldn't have been older than eleven.

"What's wrong little one?" Rena asked, kneeling down near her.

"I...I can't find my mom..." She whispered in return.

"Want some help?"

The child looked up with her tearful eyes and stared into Rena's, looking deep into the charming pink eyes of Rena.

"I would like some help..." The young girl whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Okay. Come on then." Rena skipped any sort of basic introductory and took the hand of the young girl, helping her up and out of the dark alley.

"What's your name?" Satomi asked, holding the girl's other hand.

"Ritoru...Ritoru Odayakana..." She whispered. Rena shook her head and looked down to the little girl, shrugging off an uncanny coincidence.

"I'm Satomi and she's Rena." Satomi introduced herself and Rena, still holding hands with Ritoru.

"So where'd you see your mom at last, Ritoru?" asked Rena gently. Ritoru pointed towards the marketplace, on a path leading from the school. The girls searched fruitlessly until Ritoru revealed where she lived at. Rena's earlier guess was right, this girl lived with and was even family with Yami. Rena knocked on the door and waited patiently.

"Yes?" Yami asked as she opened the sliding door.

"You didn't tell us you had children." Rena said with a cheery smile.

"Oh...oh my. Hehe, well come on in. You too Ritoru-chan." Yami motioned for them to come in, standing aside. Rena and the others come inside, Yami closing the door behind her and sitting on the floor near the coffee table. Ritoru fled to Yami, scared but slowly calmed by Yami's gentle embrace.

"I'm sorry if she put you through any trouble. She must've lost her way home again. I thought she was right behind me," Yami let out a long sigh, "but I guess she wasn't this time."

"Neither of us knew that you had children either." noted Satomi.

"Actually, she technically isn't my child. Vampire's are undead and can't have children. Ritoru-chan's an adopted child, one that I rescued from the Forest of Magic a few years ago."

"So she doesn't remember what happened to her real parents?" asked Rena.

Yami shook her head, "When I found her she was a blank slate. I don't even know what happened either, I just found her wandering around the forest not far from the Youkai Mountain."

Yami explained the full story to the girls, about how Ritoru's been living with Yami ever since that day. She's been fed, taken to school, cared for in every way that Yami could offer. After the long story, Rena and Satomi headed home for some tea and lunch, traveling the now-populated marketplace. In just an hour and a half's time, the marketplace went from dead empty to bustling with activity. Kids wandered around aimlessly, killing time by visiting shops and favored hangout spots while the adults labored endlessly as they took off from one shop to the next.

"Things sure picked up fast around here..." said Satomi, just loud enough for her voice to be heard past the talkative crowds around her.

"Sure did. I wonder if something's going on." Rena looked around, brushing aside her long red hair from her eyes. People were in a rush, some for foodstuffs and supplies for home, while some seemed to be carrying injured friends and family to the hospital. There was a short convoy of people carrying people in their arms to the hospital, some of them with blood still spurting from their wounds.

"Seems like something's up, I don't know what but it's not good." said a worried Satomi.

"I hope the other's are alright." said Rena.

They returned home, swung the sliding door open and being greeted with a departing Corey with Kana at his side.

"Gonna go hunting soldier boy?" Rena asked, quickly embracing Corey and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Corey chuckled and said, "Don't you know it?"

"Is Kana going with you?" asked Satomi.

"Yup, I invited her to get out of the house for a while, all of us knows she needs it." Corey gestured towards Kana to come with him as he left the house. Kana waved goodbye as she closed the door behind her.

"Well, guess that means we're doing the cooking tonight." said Rena as she walked into the kitchen. The smell of semi-burnt food escaped the depths of the wispy air in the kitchen.

"Guess again." Stella gave a cheery smile from her post at the stove in the kitchen. May and Stella already had the cooking somewhat under control. May still had problems cooking Japanese, but with a little help and guidance from Rena and Satomi, they sorted out the mess.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Hakurei Shrine...

* * *

"Ah, I see the lunatic has arrived, ze." commented Marisa, entering the shrine with me in tow.

"And I see your sense of humor has yet to diminish." A young girl with black girl giggled, sitting across from Reimu. There was another girl with a strange dress of red and black with constellations covering it. Her long silver hair was braided and she had a sort of nurses cap on.

"Who's this?" The strange nurse asked.

"This is Will, he's here to help us with the strange happenings lately." informed Reimu.

"Good morning, ladies, pleasure to meet you." I gave a quick bow of courtesy.

"Pleasure to meet you Will. I'm Kaguya and this is my assistant, Eirin." Kaguya introduced with a calm smile, her eyes half-shut. She let out a loud yawn and leaned back with her arms keeping her up. I took a seat across from Marisa, observing the two new-comers.

"So what's this about me helping with what now?" I asked Reimu, who wore a more serious expression today. Her mind must be on overdrive for her to carry around such a grim look. Reimu handed me the newest edition of the Bunbunmaru, the headline today being "Grim attack on Lunarians!"

"Lunarians? What on earth are those?" I asked bluntly, giving Reimu a raised brow.

"They're the people of the Moon, like me and my maid here." giggled Kaguya, her friend Eirin rolling her eyes and grinning.

"Okay, so I did see a city on the moon that one night..." I whispered to myself.

"Anyways, I've called the three of you here to discuss this strange creature that's terrorizing the Lunarians now. We need that thing back on Earth for study." said Reimu, still wearing that grim expression.

"What? Did you say that you really want that thing back here?" Marisa widened her eyes, apparently knowing nothing about this plan. She doesn't seem to like figuring things out ahead of time.

"I believe that's what she said. I'm more than willing to perform some expiriments if you can get the subject, but you'll have to inform me as to what exactly I'm supposed to be looking for." said Eirin. I was curious as to what all she would be able to do as far as expirimenting goes, considering the low-tech age we're in. Perhaps there's some sort of surgical magic they have just for specially trained professionals?

"I want to see what's driving this thing to it's killing sprees,"

"Wouldn't that be best left to the satori underground though?" Kaguya interrupted Reimu.

"We don't need a mental diagnosis to tell it's crazy, but reaching into it's mind isn't gonna get it to stop being crazy. I need that thing's mind slowed down as to communicate properly with it. If anyone would know a medicine for that, it would be Eirin-chan." Reimu explained further, making a little more sense about bringing along Kaguya and Eirin. But why did she need me?

"I should have some sedatives that can bring him down to a more talkative level." said Eirin, her mind wandering through different chemicals she could use.

"So why'd you bring me then?" I asked bluntly, wanting that question answered already.

"Well, someone will have to stun the creature long enough for us to capture him. You're first spell card should do the trick just fine." Reimu made a valid point that I couldn't dismiss.

"And I suppose your going to use one of her," Marisa pointed to Kaguya, "rabbits as bait?"

"That can be arranged. I'm sure they could use a break from Eirin expirimenting on them." Kaguya giggled as she looked over to her "maid".

"Uh, expirimenting?" I asked with a raised brow aimed at Eirin.

"No, no, it's not what it sounds like! Alot of my subjects volunteer for my expiriments." Eirin waved her hands in denial, but I was still a little sketchy about this girl, same goes for Kaguya. I just couldn't believe that these people were from the damn Moon, but then again, what could I believe in this strange place?

"Now I just need one of you two to inform the other Lunarians about sending the creature back." Reimu looked to Kaguya more than Eirin.

"I suppose I could have Reisen send a message to the Lunarians. So I take it that's settled then?" Kaguya asked, ready to head home and, more importantly, back to bed.

"That's the plan. We'll execute the plans as soon as possible." Reimu dismissed everyone. I walked outside to see off Kaguya when I was summoned to the side by Eirin.

"What is it you need, Eirin?" I asked politely. It was hard to keep my cool around such a sketchy person, but I managed somehow.

"I heard, from dependable resources, that you have something in your genes that gives you your power. Is this true?"

"Yes. My powers come from a genetical enhancement. Why?"

"I would like to have some of this modification for myself, just a quick shot if you wouldn't mind?" Eirin politely asked with an old-fashioned syringe in hand.

"I don't know if I quite trust you with something like this." I accidentally said. I didn't want to be so harsh to her, but I had to get my point across fast.

"I assure you, on behalf of my medical status as Gensokyo's pharmicist, I will take good care of this blood sample. Please?" she asked again with a softer voice. I could hear the honesty in her voice, and despite my want to say "no" again, I just couldn't. She didn't mean harm, she was an honest doctor with honest means.

I sighed and pulled back the sleeve on my jacket, "Just promise me you'll be very careful with this stuff, genetics aren't a thing to play around with."

"I promise on my eternal life that I will be extra careful with this." Eirin injected the needle in with a sharp pinch and drew out my dark blue blood. Once she was done, she used a pinch of medical magic to heal up any trace of an entry wound.

"Alright then, was there anything else you needed?" I asked impatiently.

"Actually, just one more thing. I was wondering if you knew what this here was." Eirin pulled out a glass container of black liquid that, on the side, was labeled as "Project Harbinger". My eyes widened to see this monstrosity somehow back from it's grave in the Dementia Void.

I gained a grim expression like that of Reimu's and said, "If you know what's best for you and everyone that exists and will exist, you'll trash that thing."

"But what is it even supposed to be?" asked Eirin.

"Eirin, come on! I want to get back to sleep!" Kaguya shouted in the distance.

I clasped my hands on Eirin's shoulders, looked up at her with a grim expression, and said, "If you have any respect for humanity, stow that thing in the farthest corner of the universe you can and don't ever touch it again, okay? I don't say this to be an asshole, I say this out of concern. This thing is a monstrosity that was supposed to be gone from the world."

I gently let go of her, quickly apologized and shook my head in dismissal.

"Don't worry, Will, I'll take care of everything. You can count on me." Eirin ran off to Kaguya, the two flying away.

"Normally I would count on you," I sighed, "But I don't know of anyone I can trust with that thing..."

I walked back inside where I was scared half to death by a drunken oni falling through the ceiling.

"Damn, I didn't even know you were up there!" I said, helping Suika up.

"I fell asleep while I was fixing the hole in the roof." She said pointing up to a large hole in the roof.

"Yeah, you sure fixed it alright..." Marisa said sarcastically, looking up through the hole to the cloudless sky above.

Reimu sighed and held her hand to her face, "And it looks like we're going to need more wood now."

"To the Kourindou!" Marisa happily announced, already boarding her broom and patting on the back of it for me to get on. I shrugged and boarded, Reimu taking flight along with Suika. I never would've guessed that a normal human like Reimu would be able to fly, but then again, nothing was normal in this world.

"What's the Kourindou?" I asked loudly, trying to get my voice louder than the whipping winds that buffeted our ears.

"It's an odds-and-ends shop. There's a little bit of everything there and Reimu-chan and I are good friends with the owner." Marisa replied, looking over her shoulder and paying not a bit of attention to where she was flying. She almost zipped right past the Kourindou if Reimu hadn't warned her that she was going too fast. We were a ways away from the shrine, the woods being thicker here and the dirt road being fainter. There was alot of strange miscellaneous items scattered around the outside of the shop. Broken televisions, ironing boards, roof shingles, pretty much anything. Reimu and Marisa walked in first, followed by the still-drunk oni, Suika. She would occasionally bob her head to the sides and sometimes walk into me. At one point, I even had to help keep her up.

"Hi, Rinnosuke!" Marisa chimed. On cue, a white-haired man peered his head out from the side of an open doorway.

"Oh, just the usual annoyances. Try not to break anything this time, I'm down to my last set of teacups and I'm not letting Marisa break them." Rinnosuke bitterly commented, taking position at his cash register. I let Marisa and Reimu conduct business, and by business I mean casual banter and occasional arguing, while I looked around the store. There was alot of various things in here, gaming consoles, refridgerators, RC helicopters, and even a bunch of books from the outside world. I browsed through the books first, accidentally reading the names aloud while Suika looked at me with her head cocked to the side and wearing a confounded expression.

"Sun Tzu and the Art of War...Otaku USA...Bound By Echoes...Angel's Family?" I picked up the last book I named and flipped through it. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it almost brought a tear to my eye. I don't understand how, maybe it was Yukari's doing, but somehow a photo album of my mother and father ended up here.

"Who are those people?" Suika asked, looking at the photo album with me.

"That's my mom and dad..." I said with a slightly broken voice.

"What's wrong, Will-chan?" Suika looked up at me with innocent eyes. It was hard for me to look at her without my eyes going up to those strange horns on her head, but I looked at her in the eyes and smiled.

"Nothing's wrong, no worries..." I patted her head a few times. She smiled like a young child and practically leaped on top of me in a tight grip. The book slid out of my hand and down the hallway towards Reimu's feet.

"Find something? Other than the drunken oni?" Reimu asked, picking up the photo album and browsing through it. It had pictures of Christmas Parties, their home at the Angel's Grove, my sisters and I being born.

"Yeah," I got up from Suika's leap attack, "Found an old photo album of my parents."

"Damn, you had quite the family!" Marisa, holding the wooden planks in her arms, observed a group photo of all my sisters together, including the dead ones.

"Yeah, wish half of them didn't die when we all got scattered." I commented, "Now, where'd I put my wallet at..."

I couldn't find my wallet so I could pay for the photo album. I was sure I had enough money to pay for the album, but I couldn't find my wallet anywhere.

"Marisa, did you steal my wallet?" I looked right at her with a disgruntled expression.

"Don't look at me!" She shot back.

"Man..." I sighed, checking my pockets again. Little did I know, Reimu actually already paid for it with her own money.

Reimu handed me the album and said, "Consider it a gift for agreeing to help capture that creature."

I was bewildered for a moment but finally regained my voice and said, "Thanks so much. I really appreciate it."

"My, don't you have a big heart today?" Marisa said to Reimu with a childish smirk.

"She has a heart?" Suika joked.

"Just goes to show how much of a reputation you get when you don't steal everything you want." Reimu gave a skittish smile and left the store with all of us in tow.

"Ugh, for the last time, I don't steal anything!" Marisa shouted angrily. She prepared her broom for flight and I took a seat right behind her, ready to go back home with my photo album in hand. Suika took command of the boards and followed Reimu back to the shrine while Marisa took me back to the village, dropping me off and saying farewell. She thrusted off for I don't care where while I made my way to meet up with a little family for a lunchtime meal together...

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Drunken Oni...

* * *

"Nice to see you again, Grace-chan." Akyuu greeted the street rat in maid's clothing.

"Hi Akyuu, how goes the work today?" Grace asked as she laid down a cup of black tea for the busy girl.

"Actually, I'm helping plan the Tanabata festival being held at Hakugyokurou this year." Akyuu spoke cryptically to Grace.

"Tanabata?" Grace tried to sound out the word syllable by syllable.

Akyuu giggled and said, "Sorry, I keep forgetting that your not from Japan."

Akyuu began explaining as much as she could about the annual star festival before Grace had to get back to work.

"This job sucks more and more by the day..." Grace sighed to herself, bringing back another steak that was "underdone".

"Why don't I just burn it to a damn crisp for them?" The chef complained as Grace filled him in on the problem.

"Cause then they'll be asking for their yen back." Grace shot back as she picked up another order to bring to a certain group of visiting friends and family.

"So, come to rub it in did ya?" Grace asked, looking specifically at me.

"Depends on how good the service is." I smiled to her. It was Melody, this Yuuka girl, and I, eating out before heading out. Melody had her classes with Lyrica today and she wanted me to go with her.

"Why don't ya eat and find out?" Grace replied with a skittish smile.

Yuuka giggled and said "You seem to be enjoying the job alot more than you thought you would."

"Eh," Grace gave a shrug, "It could be worse."

"Yeah, you could be shoveling dirt in the fields like some of the farmers." chimed Melody.

"Grace-chan, the steaks are done!" one of the other waitresses shouted to Grace.

"Well, back to work for me..." Grace sighed and rolled her eyes, heading back to the kitchen.

"So what was it you were going to say, brother?" Melody asked.

I sighed and my grim expression returned, "That damned Warforger gene popped up again. Project Harbinger...damned thing..."

"I thought Corey destroyed that in the Dementia Void?" Melody questioned. Yuuka just looked at us both in confusion.

"I'm sure you have no idea what we're talking about." I chuckled, looking at Yuuka.

"Actually, I'm kind of interested by this..." She replied calmly.

"I don't suppose you've met my friend, Corey?"

"Can't say I have." Yuuka replied.

"Corey's got a very dangerous gene in him, one that can basically breed war. That gene was shot into space to make sure nobody else got ahold of it. If the wrong person were to get ahold of that gene, it would turn the whole world into one giant battlefield."

"Corey found the gene in one of our adventures and destroyed it. But I guess somehow it was remade or something..." Melody continued my explanation then spaced off in deep thought.

Yuuka gave a puzzled expression and asked, "Then what makes it okay for your friend to have it?"

"Corey may be a show-off with his powers, but he has alot of responsibility with it. I trust him with this sort of power, same goes for my friends and family. He'll stand down whenever he thinks it'll cause unneeded chaos." I briefly explained. I could feel my head lighten a little from getting to talk about this whole ordeal. I was lucky Yuuka was kind enough to listen.

"I see..." Yuuka radiated a scheming vibe that I didn't quite like. I hoped that Eirin knew a good place to hide that thing, nobody can be trusted with that gene.

We finished eating and headed off through the dense forest to the Poltergeist Mansion where Lyrica was awaiting our arrival. The closer we got, the more we could hear of their ghostly performances. Once inside, I could feel a flurry of bizaare emotions flooding in me from the music. There was so many, I couldn't sort them out all at once. It was nice but after a while, I summoned my powers to block out the sounds, save for any made by Melody and Lyrica. We turned down a few hallways and entered a room that was split in half, one side for waiting outsiders and one side for practicing in. I don't know if the viewing glass was sound proof, but I hoped so if Lyrica was wanting me to play some songs. I wouldn't want to disturb any other performers in here. Once we were inside, Yuuka took off for elsewhere, leaving with a smile and a reminder that she'll be back later to pick us up from here. I can't imagine how she'd be so agreeable to such a tedious task, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Ah so you came today. I was wondering where you were yesterday and the day before, I trust all is well now?" Lyrica asked, floating in midair along with her keyboard.

Melody gave a polite bow and said, "I'm terribly sorry about that, there was an accident heading home from work, please forgive me."

"Relax! It's no problem, I was just wondering where you were." smiled Lyrica.

"We were attacked by that poisonous doll, oh what was her name?" I wondered to myself, trying to remember what Alice had called that thing.

"Oh, you mean Medicine Melancholy? Yeah, that makes sense, she's been known to wander around here sometimes. Wish the stupid thing would go poison herself or something, gets a little troublesome when she leaves passed out travelers at our damn doorstep." Lyrica sighed to herself, "Anyways, it's no problem, I forgive you. Now, let's hear what your friend here can do, I'm interested to hear..."

I did as I was told and summoned my guitar, playing a couple songs for her. She was interested to say the least, at least, that was what I could tell.

"Not bad! Now let's see you two perform together, I'm interested to see what sounds you two can make." Lyrica tried to bunch us together, not that we needed it. I shrugged as Melody summoned her keyboard. I noticed something strange about it, she seems to have added another tier of keys to it, resting above the first set. She's grown so much now that I think I might just have to find some way to pay back Lyrica for helping my sister so much. It made me smile to see that she was so eager and confident about her abilities now.

We played our songs together, the ones we knew by heart, and performed better than ever before. Lyrica's trained my sister well, very well. Even some of the other poltergeists drifted down from the ceiling to see what all the commotion was. Our last song came to an end and the three poltergeists clapped happily.

"Very well done, you've improved alot since you first came here." A poltergeist with a black dress said quietly.

"Riveting performance, you two are quite promising.~" Another sister of Lyrica said. She wore a pink dress with blue trim.

"Indeed. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to invite you two to perform with us at the Tanabata festival at Hakugyokurou. It's not long from now, around a week or two." Lyrica said with a cheery smirk.

"I'm not too sure about that. Isn't that the land of the dead?" I asked.

"Come on brother, I really would like to go!" Melody asked sharply.

As much as my heart didn't want to say it, I said to my sister, "Melody, my sister's have been getting injured left and right, I really don't want you to be next, so I'd like it if you'd stay here."

"You should let her go, it'd be a great way for her to enjoy performing." The sister with the pink dress said.

"It's a waste to pin up one's true ability." The one in the black dress continued.

Both Lyrica and Melody gave me pitiful eyes, trying to get me to agree. It killed me to say "no" to her or really anyone, but I had my reasons. Unfortunately, those reasons weren't strong enough for me to keep saying no.

"I...suppose I could let you go..."

"Yay!"

"But!" I interrupted Melody's cheer, "But you are to stay with me at all times! I don't want you getting hurt during this performance, so anywhere you go, I go. And no wandering around either. You're to stay by my side at all times. Understood?"

"I understand brother, thank you!" She gripped me in a big hug, Lyrica smiling alongside her sisters. Then my phone began to ring, playing a melodious trance ringtone. For the first time in this land of fantasy, my phone actually rang. As Melody let go of me and looked at me in worry, Lyrica's eyes widened, as did her smile.

"What is that strange sound?" Lyrica asked, looking at my cell phone as I pulled it out. The call was from Aaron, still stationed at Landscape hopefully.

"Yo, Aaron, what's up man? Everything okay there?" I asked with the phone plastered to my ear. There was alot of static, making it hard to hear my distant friend.

"Yo dawg there's been...bout the damned...they're ripping up Landscape again..." The static over the phone masked alot of the conversation, but I was able to make out a certain name I dreaded to hear.

"Hello? Hello?" I looked at my phone to find that my call was disconnected.

"Something wrong?" Lyrica asked.

"Nah, it's nothing. No worries." I shrugged off the worry I had for my hometown. I was here and Aaron was there at Landscape, defending it like usual. Even if the town was attacked, I'm sure Aaron could fend off the attackers. Though it's not often that Aaron called for anything at all, that alone worried me, and when that's added to what he was already talking about, it had me extra concerned. I had to shrug it off for now though, stressing over everything isn't gonna help my situation. There's always stress in life, worrying about it wont make it go away.

"Good, then I don't suppose you can tell me about that interesting sound your thing made." Lyrica pointed to my cell phone. I forget that they aren't used to outside technology. It surprised me that I was able to pick up any signal at all around here, there certainly wasn't any satellites drifting in space that I could think of.

"Oh, you mean this?" I played the same ringtone from before. Lyrica was enchanted by the rich synthesizer in just that little clip.

"Yeah, that's called techno in our world." I informed, playing more of the song from the Heaven Shaker.

"Tech...no?" Lyrica tried to repeat.

"Yup. It's machine made." I said, finishing the song from before.

"Play some more! That's an interesting style of music!" The pink-dressed one asked politely.

"I agree with Merlin, this is quite the music." The girl in black added.

I shrugged and played a few more songs for them, Lyrica trying to tune her keyboard into playing the same sounds and the others just soaking up the melodies and bass coming from my speaker. I had officially become a living jukebox for a trio of music-playing poltergeists...this world was officially more messed up than the Dementia Void...

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Misty Lake...

* * *

"So why are we so far from the lake again?" Kana asked, laying down on her stomach next to Corey who was doing the same thing. Corey had already sniped a good amount of chubby blackbirds and occasional sparrows. He even went so far as to pester Mystia as she passed through the woods. Of course, Mystia never found him, but he didn't care if she did or not. He wanted a little bit of revenge for the trouble she's caused. The wind was making a little hard for Corey to focus, but he managed to keep his aim steady.

"Because a certain something happened at that mansion that makes me want to avoid it..." Corey noted with a shiver in his voice.

"Like what?" Kana was bound determined to get a straight answer from Corey. She already wore a smirk that said she wanted to hear what screw-up Corey made this time.

Corey shied a little and sheepishly said, "I kinda accidentally shot out one of the windows of the mansion and now I think the owner wants to kill me..."

"Trouble seems to find you more than the others..." Kana remarked.

"Yeah, well being accident-prone isn't necessarily a good thing for me." Corey said as he shot down another bird, it's wings failing to keep it aloft as it crashed into the depths of the green forest. Kana swooped down and reclaimed the bird, storing it in a little wooden box that had ice in it. Corey was tempted to try capturing an ice fairy and keeping that in the box instead of replacing the ice constantly, but most of them that were shot down would abruptly vanish mid-flight. Corey didn't mind though, the alcove of rocks they were on was cold as it was, they didn't need an ice fairy making it even colder.

"Good job, thanks." said Corey, storing away the dead bird, "So, wanna try your hand at sniping?"

"Oh, I don't know about that..." Kana shied away.

"It isn't bad, besides, I've worked on a way to split my gun for others to use." Corey squinted and moaned as his sniper swiveled from his arm to the side. It was attached to a central pivot that allowed the shooter to still move the gun, but keep it attached to Corey. Corey still couldn't figure out how to completely seperate the gun from himself. In his mind he knew that doing so would also classify as losing an arm or some other vital body part, so he wasn't too eager about learning that trick.

Kana held the gun shakily, but Corey walked her through how to aim and fire. It took her a few shots, but she got the hang of it. She was dismissed to reclaim the prey while Corey returned his gun to normal, it mounted on his arm and in his complete control.

"See? It's not bad at all." Corey smiled at Kana as she floated up to the mountain alcove they were perched on.

"It was kinda fun, thank you." Kana smiled and handed him the bird to stow away.

Corey let out a gentle laugh and said, "You're more than welcome little soldier."

* * *

And back at the Drunken Oni...

* * *

"There's gotta be something that we can do different this year..." Akyuu sighed to herself, looking through her hastily made plans for the Tanabata festival. Grace sat across from her, wondering the same thing. Even after learning what the Tanabata was, she still had no ideas.

"What all have we already done?" Grace asked, holding her head in her hands. She was finally off her shift and took this time to relax and catch up with Akyuu, enjoying a quick meal with her friend.

"Let's see...we've had danmaku tournaments, concerts, arts and crafts contests, and I think we've done a fireworks show a couple times..." Akyuu recalled, sipping occasionally on her black tea.

Grace snapped her fingers and said, "Talent show. We can do that!"

"What's a talent show?" Akyuu asked, downing poor Grace.

"It's just a show where you can show off a talent or ability that only you can do. There can be single and two person talent shows." Grace briefly explained.

Akyuu smiled and said, "That sounds good to me. Oh, and you're more than welcome to follow with me up there. You can bring your family too if you want."

"I'm sure they'd be glad to see somewhere new for a change." Grace smiled. The whole family would have something to do soon enough, and this party will be just the break they need from the same-old same-old...

* * *

Later that day...

* * *

"Thanks again for letting me go, Will." Melody cheered, explaining the whole thing to Yuuka who patiently waited for us outside of the mansion.

"Just be careful okay? We've been getting nailed left and right lately, don't want that injury spree to continue." I replied. My eyes looked cautiously around the woods to make sure there wasn't any enemies that were going to attempt a surprise attack. In my hasty scenery watching, I hadn't realized that the trees around us were lowering their branches lower and lower as we walked.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like we're being watched?" Melody asked, frightened and keeping close to Yuuka and I.

"Oh, we're being watched alright, I just can't tell what's watching us." Yuuka added, examining the trees around us. There was a sinister intent hidden in the darkness above us, not even the moon was shining above to guide us. There wasn't any sunset still remaining and there was hardly a star in the sky visible beyond the trees looming over us. The warm night air did nothing to calm us either, the sinister air keeping us on our toes. Just as I had faintly predicted, one of the giant tree limbs looming over us almost fell right on top of Yuuka and Melody. It fell down and then somehow returned back into it's original position.

"The hell's going..." I was stopped midsentence to jump out of the way of a tree slamming it's spikey limbs down by me. I summoned the Heaven Shaker and blasted away the tree limbs behind me, sending the things flying backwards.

"Let's move!" I shouted, taking off running. We had to duck and dodge constantly, the trees around us taking life and threatening ours. The wind quickly went from a warm breeze to a bitter chill as we rushed down the faint dirt road.

"What's doing this?" I kept asking myself in my head. Yuuka didn't seem too bothered by it, but I had no intention of being killed by a damn tree tonight. If I'm going to die, it's gonna be by something better than a damn tree. The village was in sight, but so was a row of trees perched seamlessly on the sides of the wider dirt trail. Melody rolled out of the way of another tree branch but Yuuka wasn't as quick to think. The limb swung down and I was tempted to launch the Heaven Shaker and thrust her out of the way but she apparently had everything under control. She shot her fist upwards to meet the branch on it's decent, smashing the thing clean off. My eyes widened to see such a small girl have so much strength to her. I didn't have time to admire it though, I had to get back to the village with Melody too. Once we were in the village walls, I thanked all that was good for not injuring my sister. I know for a damned fact that I don't need any more people hurt.

"Well, that was quite a rush..." I sighed, offering my shoulder to Melody. She was exhausted, not being too physically fit put a toll on her. She hesitantly took my shoulder and almost passed out but kept walking.

"You sure do have some power for someone of your stature." I complimented Yuuka.

She giggled and said, "I'm more than meets the eye, Will-chan. Well, I'm going to return to my mansion now, take care and farewell."

Melody and I waved goodbye as she zoomed off.

"I wonder what the hell that was all about..." I said aloud by accident.

"Aurora didn't show you the newspaper this morning? This stuff's been happening alot lately. Things are just randomly coming alive and attacking people." Melody explained. This was a strange case, it seems that there's more than just one youkai out to kill now...

* * *

Well there it is people, Chapter 11 and boy has this been fun to write. Sorry if there was a little too much jumping around, I'm trying to get myself to compress it more but oh well. Anyways, there'll be much MUCH MUCH more to come, trust me, the story has so much to go now, so keep reading people, I'll try to post as much as I can. Keeping a job, writing fanfic, and now, composing music, I've got quite a life going on so there might be some delay here and there, but stay faithful friends, I'm not giving up on this til I'm good and done!


	11. Chapter 11: Festive Lullaby

Chapter 11: Festive Lullaby

"Okay, so we're going to start with Lunar Clock, go to Deaf to All but the Song, and finish with Love-Coloured Master Spark?" I asked, my eyes trained on Lyrica floating beside me.

Lyrica shook her head and said in her ghostly voice, "No, no, that's way too short!"

"Then lets add Septette for the Dead Princess and Lunatic Princess in there somewhere." I rolled my eyes and re-wrote the setlist on a piece of paper for one of Grace's friends to copy later. Grace kept going on and on about how neat her handwriting was, so who better to make flyers for the concert?

"That might work, but we'll need to practice a lot if we're going to get Lunatic Princess down. I have alotta work to do on that song." chimed Melody, sitting down next to me at the desk.

"Let's get to it then!" the impatient Lyrica dashed off for the practice hall.

Over a span of a couple weeks, I'd been composing new songs for the Phantom Ensemble to play. Melody's been helping as well, though she just plays the music, I take care of coming up with it. The saddest part of it is that the hard thing is coming up with names for the songs. While everyone's been busy in some way or another, I've been slacking off on taking care of the house, but I don't think anyone minded anyways. Annette and May have been hitting the youkai hunting hard ever since that random guard asked Annette if she wanted a job. Corey, Luna, and Kana now, have been hunting our food down, Grace still works at the Drunken Oni, and the other girls take shifts at home doing various chores.

After tons of work, the time had finally come to put our practice to use.

"Alright, just relax and don't look down." said Lunasa, hoisting me into the air while I had my arms wrapped around her shoulders. I didn't dare look down, but I could feel the hearty breeze whipping my hair around. It was around sunset, darkness already turning the clouds in the sky a purplish color.

"I wonder if we'll see any annoying shrine maidens up here tonight." joked Lyrica, who held onto Melody on our voyage up to Hakugyokurou.

"I have the feeling that annoying shrine maidens will be the least of our worries." said Lunasa gloomily.

"Don't worry too much before a big event, it's said to be bad luck!" chimed Merlin.

We finally hit the ground, or at least, I thought it was ground. The earth was coated in a layer of pink petals and there was a long staircase leading down behind me. The night here was magical, the lanterns nearby gave off a radiant light that illuminated the peaceful land around us and the breeze was much warmer here. Melody, still straightening out her hair, walked next to me as I followed the poltergeists around a large Japanese-style building and to the festival grounds. There were quite a few people here already but most of them were still setting up their vendors and such.

"Now remember, this is the princess of the dead we'll be performing for, so do your best!" said Lunasa, her violin floating nearby her.

"A princess? You didn't say anything about her being a princess!" My eyes widened, though I kept my voice down so I didn't attract any youkai that might be looking for an along-the-way snack. Merlin and Lyrica nodded their heads in confirmation. I could feel my heart sink a little in worry.

"Hi Will, did you miss me?" A seductive voice asked from behind me. I quickly whipped around to see May standing before me with my friends and family in tow. My eyes widened and my heart sunk even more. I really didn't want them to be somewhere like this, if more people got hurt, I'd only keep blaming myself for not being able to help. I could only hope that this would end better than what I think it will.

"The hell are you all doing here?" I asked bluntly. The poltergeists and Melody stopped to look back and see what the commotion was about.

"Way to talk to your girlfriend, Will." joked Annette in the back.

"We were invited to come. Grace's friend Akyu helped schedule us being able to come here. Though her and Akyuu are running a little late it seems..." said May, gripping my arm tight as she followed me. Once we were to head backstage, most of the girls split off from the group, save for Annette, who claimed to be tonights bouncer, and Stella, who was working the lighting.

"Ah, so you've arrived! I was getting anxious to meet the new members of my favorite band." a pink-haired girl approached. Her robes were a sky-blue and her hat had a strange but familiar symbol on it that I couldn't quite name.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Yuyuko-san." greeted the three poltergeists, bowing politely to her. Melody and I took the initiative and bowed as well.

Yuyuko giggled and said, "Please, don't bother with the formalities, you're welcome guests here," She looked my way and asked, "So what's your name?"

"My name is William Venitus, pleasure to meet you fair princess." I greeted politely.

"And my name is Melody Venitus, it's a pleasure to make your acquantance." Melody maintained her politeness as she usually does. We both had high fears if we pissed off the god of the dead.

"My, my! What manners!" cheered Yuyuko, "Youmu-chan! Come here!"

A young silver-haired girl approached us, a cloud-like blob following her. Honestly, I almost mistook her for a boy, til I took a closer look at her green dress. I suppose that it really was a girl, much to my ill sight.

"Yes, Yuyuko-sama?" Youmu asked, standing before Yuyuko.

"Lookie, these two are even stiffer than you are!" chimed Yuyuko.

"It seems that way. Relax, you two are in no danger here. My mistress's mannerisms will comfort you more than intimidate you." said Youmu, smiling warmly and switching her focus back to Yuyuko, "Now, is that all you needed, mistress?"

Yuyuko nodded, prompting Youmu to scamper off to the inside of the nearby building.

"Anyways, it's nice to meet you two. Have fun at the festival, I'll see you later! Bye Will-kun, bye Melody-chan!" Yuyuko waved as she walked away. Melody bowed to her as she left and I waved back to her.

"Well, lets get everything set up here before the talent show begins." said Lyrica, motioning us to come help set up some equipment Rinnosuke loaned out to us. He had a large selection of tables and miscellaneous props for Melody and I and some of the people doing the talent show here in not long. The talent show was going to come before our performance, the sisters saying they want to enjoy the festival at least a little instead of just coming to perform.

"This looks like a good spot." said Satomi quietly. She had command over where to set up their yakitori stand. Her, Rena, and Kana were eager to begin cooking, seeing this a perfect chance to put their cooking skills to the test. Little did they know about their enemy-next-door, selling grilled lamprey and giving them hateful glares. Mystia silently swore to herself that she'd still sell better than her competitors would. There was just enough people around to satisfy both vendors, but Mystia was still aggravated that her business was being sapped from.

"Okay, just what the hell do you three think you're doing, stealing my business like this?" Mystia barked, slamming both hands on the wooden stall counter where Satomi and Rena put their deliveries and extra sauces.

"We're just doing what we do best, it's not our fault your food sucks." said Rena bluntly, manning their income.

"Sucks? I'll show you who sucks!" Mystia stormed off, thinking of some way to get back at them for stealing away her business.

Mystia sighed to herself and said, "Where's Wriggle or Cirno when you need them..."

"Excuse us, we'd like some lamprey!" A small brunette fairy said bluntly, wearing a cheery smile and holding a handful of yen. Mystia grew a wide smile as the gears in her mind grinded towards a good idea.

"I'll tell you what, how would you like some free lamprey?" asked Mystia, motioning for the three to come closer.

"Yeah!" The three shouted together.

"Well, you see that vendor right next to me? I want you to mess up their business in any way you can." Mystia said, her arms crossed and a wide smile plastered on her face. The three girls discussed as a group, huddled near each other, as to what to do.

"Okay, we'll do it!" Star Sapphire chimed happily, taking off with her friends behind Satomi's yakitori stand.

"Okay, so here's what we'll do. Sunny-chan, I want you to distract the tall red-headed one by reflecting the light nearby or something like that." started Star Sapphire, pointing in the distance where she weren't likely to be seen.

"Aww, why do I have to be so far away? I wanna see them mess up!" complained Sunny Milk, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Come on, there's free lamprey in it for us all!" said Luna Child. After a quick reconsideration, Sunny Milk was back on track with helping sabotage the stand.

"Luna, you and I are gonna switch their tare sauce with wasabi sauce." said Star, taking command instead of Sunny Milk. She was the one that helped raised the most money for the festival, so she considered it only right for her to be the temporary leader for the night.

"I like this job!" said Luna simplistically.

"Let's get to it!" Star Sapphire dismissed Sunny and waited til she was in position to peek inside through the thick tent-like sheet draped over the back of the stand.

Rena, with a bright light shining in her eyes, accidentally knocked over a box of charcoal for the grills.

"Dammit," she whispered to herself, "Kana, I need help over here!"

"Coming!" Kana quickly abandoned her post at the grills to help. Hanging from the bottom of the grills was a little shelf where three bottles of sauce were stored at. Star reached her hand through the tent to the the other side, blindly flailing her hand around for the sauce bottles. She didn't wanna risk going all the way in, she'd probably be seen if she went any further than her single hand. Her hand gripped the bottom of the still-hot grill and she quickly reared back, holding her hand that was now burning-hot. Luna Child quickly covered her mouth with both hands while Star screamed in pain.

"You idiot! You're gonna give us away!" whispered Luna Child harshly. Once Star was calmed, or at least, crying her pain out now with silent tears, Luna Child tried her hand at sneaking around for the bottles and nabbed all three in seconds flat. She quickly replaced the sauces and snuck away with the still-crying Star Sapphire in hand. Sunny came back over and gave the two a thumbs-up.

"We did your work, now give us food!" demanded Sunny.

"Good job, you three. I think I can spare a few lamprey for you." Mystia made sure to give them the burnt and undercooked lamprey instead of the good ones. They didn't complain, their starving stomachs devoured whatever Mystia gave them...

May had her cell phone whipped out and ready to take photos. She knew she likely wasn't gonna get to enjoy something like this ever again, so she made it her personal duty to scrounge up the best photos she can while she was there. It was hard for her to get around at some areas, people were now swarming around the center, making it hard for May to get good shots with so many of them in the way.

"Training to be a photographer?" asked a voice from above. Aya glided down on black wings that quickly disappeared once she didn't need them anymore.

"I suppose you can say that," said a skittish May, "Are you here for something to put in your newspaper?"

Aya gave her a smirk and said, "Don't you know it. Hey, that looks kinda like Hatate's phone, did you get yours from the kappa too?" Aya pointed to May's cell phone.

"Nope, I got this back at the regular world. Who's Hatate?" asked May.

"That's Hatate." said Aya, pointing behind May. May turned around to see a similar looking girl in a pink skirt and blouse. She also had a cell phone in her hands, but hers was a flip phone instead of a slide phone like May's.

"Nice spirit camera." commented Hatate, nearing May so she could look at her more advance photography device. May automatically interpreted spirit camera as a cell phone.

"Thanks, your phone's pretty cute, I like that design." complimented May, looking at the screensaver of Hatate and Aya on her cell phone.

"Decide to get some fresh air or are you here to give me a challenge?" said Aya with a playful smirk.  
"I'm here to top your newspaper if that's what your asking." replied Hatate.

"I take it you two are rivals or something?" asked May, pocketing her phone for now.

"No"

"Yes"

Aya and Hatate gave each other glares that suggested a rising tension. It didn't take long for the two to start arguing about anything from proper photography techniques to who got at the festival first and has the rights to take photos there. May veered away from them and recruited the help of a certain peacemaker that could help settle the two down.

"Okay girls, lets both calm down and talk peacefully about how to resolve our differences." said Stella, taking a break from light management. She only had their attention for a short time, so she had to speak fast.

"Lets make this into a friendly challenge okay? The one who can take the best photos in half an hour gets to keep the losers photos. How about it?" said Stella, standing in between Aya and Hatate.

"Fine" both girls said, priming their cameras.

"May, would you like to participate too?" asked Aya, her mind secretely just wanting any photos May could come up with as well.

"Yeah, lets see what your spirit camera can do!" said Hatate.

"Sure, sounds like fun!" smiled May, the three rushing off to take as many good photos as they can of the festival.

"Another job well done." Stella praised herself, making her way back to the stage to work on the lights...

I had finished putting up the last of the stage stuff and was sitting down backstage, resting my legs when another of my sisters ran back here into the backstage.

"Hey bro, sorry I'm late." said Grace, panting alongside Akyuu.

"Where've you been?" I asked, getting ready to take a drink of water from my water bottle before Grace snatched it away from me. She downed it in a few seconds flat and said, "Well, I couldn't get ahold of Akyuu, so I went to her house to see if she was home."

"And since my house was empty, except for me, Grace figured it'd just be easier to pick the lock on my door rather than knock." complained Akyuu, giving Grace dirty looks.

Grace gave her a distressed look and said, "You forgot to add the part where you slept in rather than wait outside your house like you said you would."

"Anyways, you two are here, that's all that matters." I cut the two off.

"Has the talent show started yet?" asked Akyuu, adjusting her kimono and helping Grace with hers. Grace was the last person I'd expect to see wearing a kimono, but it didn't look bad on her. Her kimono was green with black trim and Akyuu's was yellow and red.

"Not yet, should be in not long though. Melody and the poltergeists are already wandering around the grandstands for our reserved spots." I informed, getting up and snatching my water bottle back from Grace.

"Good, we need to get a move on if we're going to be watching over this." said Grace, already trying to take off again. Akyuu merely stumbled around a little rather than move her legs fluently, still exhausted from their long sprint.

"Grace? An overseer? Oh this day just gets better and better." I said to myself with a childish smirk. I made sure to find my front row seat fast, right next to their booth. I was eager to see how long Grace could keep her cool. When it came to competitions, she had a habit of losing her cool if someone was screwing up.

Corey and Reiuji patiently watched, from their personal perches settled opposite the stage, the scurrying people below them in the large festival grounds. They both had offered their services of providing fireworks, their weaponry perfect for something as explosive as a fireworks show.

"So what's it like down there? You know, down in the Palace of the Earth Spirits?" asked Corey, keeping the conversation going whenever he can. He didn't even bother to keep his weapons equipped, he merely sat next to Reiuji with his casual hoodie on.

"It's a little lonely, but I get to see Master every day and that's more than enough for me." replied Reiuji.

"Ah, I know how that feels."

"So what's the outside world like?" asked Reiuji.

"It's got good and bad scattered everywhere, but it's a place to live, and it could be alot worse." Corey said, leaning back on the scaffolding they were on.

"I really want to go there someday. It sounds so neat!" said a cheery Reiuji.

Corey gave a chuckle and said, "Maybe if you ask your master nicely, she might let you come over for a visit." He didn't want to accidentally give the girl false hopes, he honestly didn't even know if there was a way back home, but he didn't know what else to say to her. As far as he knows, Reiuji could actually be the first youkai to inhabit the new Reformed earth!

"I hope so. I'd love to go there and see all the cool new stuff and see you and your friends." said Reiuji, her child-like charm bringing a smile to Corey's face.

"Thanks kid, that means alot." Corey whispered to himself, still smiling.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, a not-too-distant growling could be heard.

"I'm hungry, are you sure I can't roast the birdie down there?" Reiuji asked, pointing to Aya wandering around and gathering photos rapidly.

"Do you remember what I told you?"

Reiuji sighed, hung her head down a little and said, "Don't kill unless being killed."

"Atta girl. Come on, I'll get you something to eat."

"Thank you Corey-kun!" cheered Reiuji.

"I don't get it! Why did they just stop selling?" shouted Rena in dismay.

"I think this here is our culprit." said Kana, holding up a bottle of wasabi sauce.

"Why that little twerp! She screwed with our food!" said Rena angrily.

Satomi gave a lowering motion with her hands and said, "Now, Rena, let's calm down and assess the situation properly."

"Screw that, this bitch is going down." Rena vowed to herself. Her first intuition was to take care of it herself and in a straightforward way, but the more she thought about it, the more she'd come to regret such a decision. Then her eyes caught sight of her favorite steel soldier, walking around with Reiuji. Rena leapt over the wooden counter of the stand and weaved in and out of the thinning crowd.

"Hey there, think you can do me a favor?" Rena asked, approaching Corey and Reiuji.

"Sure hun, whatcha need?" Corey asked in between eating his candied apple.

Rena walked next to him and pointed towards Mystia's stall and said, "You see that stand over there? That girl poisoned our food and is trying to take all the customers for herself. I want you to do anything you can to bring her down a notch."

"Normally," Corey took a big bite out of his apple, "I'm not one for revenge, but if she screws with my girl, she's screwing with me too. Consider it done, come on Reuji, time for target practice!" Corey summoned his sniper rifle on his arm and led Reiuji to a thicket of bushes where he could snipe from without being seen. His jacket helped him blend in with the bushes, but Reiuji had to make a sheathe out of her wings in order for her to hide properly.

"Now, the key to sniping is to take your time. One miss and you'll give away your position." Corey educated Reiuji in a hushed tone. He took his time in aiming and, in one shot, shot out both of the back legs of Mystia's stall, making it rattle a little. He took another completely silent shot towards the bolts on the side and caused the whole stand to fall apart.

"Mission acc-" Corey stopped midsentence when he saw Reiuji holding her third leg like Corey held his sniper, a large ball of nuclear energy spawning at the tip.

"Ack, put that down! You're gonna get someone killed!" Corey whispered harshly.

"It's kinda hard to stop this far in!" Reiuji tried her hardest to diffuse the shot. It took hard effort on her end, but she managed to stop her shot.

"Okay, lets not do that again." Corey sighed, lowering his head. Breaking the silence around them was a creak-like sound. Corey took another whiff of the air and his nose started to burn terribly.

"What the hell is that smell?!" Corey gagged, standing up and moving away from the air.

"I don't know, it came from me though." said Reiuji simplistically. Another creak-like noise and Corey was quickly evacuating the area.

"I don't get it! Corey-kun, please explain!"

"Stay far away from me!" Corey shouted, running as fast as he can away from Reiuji.

I sat down in the grandstands, waiting for the talent show to start. The wind was dying down but the warmth was still in the air as the night neared it's peak. Annette still guarded the back rooms and let the performers in one by one, one of those people being Luna. I worried about what crazy thing she had planned for this show and I really hoped that it didn't involve death of any kind. I know her, she's not exactly the most graceful person. I also saw Aurora going up there with someone that I couldn't see well enough to identify. Great, one trained killer and one clumsy killer in one show, this is going to end wonderfully.

"I vant to suck your blood!" I heard a childish voice behind me that sent a quick shiver down my spine and made me jump a good foot or two off my seat. I looked behind me to see a blue-haired girl laughing behind me.

"You scared the hell out of me!" I said, chuckling at myself occasionally. I had to give Remilia credit, she got me pretty good with that scare.

"I can see that!" she replied in between laughs.

"So, are you participating in the talent show?" I asked after we both stopped laughing.

"No, but Sakuya is. She's going up against that little calculator girl that Patchouli-chan's interested in." replied Remilia.

"I see. I wonder who'll win this one, your maid's pretty good."

Remilia scoffed and said, "She's more than good, she's incredible! Though, she still isn't a match for me, I can already see who'll win this fight."

"I don't know, Aurora's got alot of power for her size." I replied.

"Well, only one way to find out how this'll end." Remilia continued, "By the way, Sakuya could use a little help around the mansion, I don't suppose you're free from now to next week?"

My eyes widened as I asked, "Next week?"

"Yeah, there's plenty of rooms you can stay in. Or are you scared that I might get a little hungry in the middle of the night?" Remilia gave me a devilish smile.

"Uhm, well...uh..."

"Relax, Will, I'm joking. I'd never feed on guests unless they make me mad."

"Remind me to stay on your good side then." I tried to force a laugh that was more fear-based then funny-based.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't think you need to be reminded to do that." finished Remilia. She turned her head to Hong Meiling sitting next to her go and fetch her something to eat. Much to Remilia's disliking of movement, she had to go with Hong to get food.

"I suppose I can't really say no to her." I said to myself, smiling as I watched Remilia walk off. It was so damn hard to get past the fact that she looked like she was only twelve.

"Look, Will, it's starting!" said Melody with a hint of excitement. It wasn't often she got excited over anything, but this was something she was eager to see, especially since our own family was participating as well.

Yuyuko took the stage, Stella shining her spotlights on her, and said, "Hello and welcome everyone to the festival! I hope everyone made it here okay. Tonight we have so much to do, first we have a talent show and then we have a performance from our favorite poltergeist band, so lets get started!"

The crowd cheered and clapped for a moment and quickly died down to let the princess speak.

"First we have little Cirno-chan freezing frogs! Give her a round of applause, everyone!" cheered Yuyuko as she stepped off the stage.

"I, the most powerful fairy in all of Gensokyo, will be freezing frogs! Watch closely, you wont see anyone else that can do this!"

"Alright, whoever's next needs to get thier asses up here!" roared Annette, her eyes changing from looking at her keyboard to looking at the crowd amassed before her. She read over the list again and searched for the missing performer.

"Who's the next performer?" asked Nitori, standing beside Luna.

"Let's see, should be Alice..."

Alice bursted forth from the back of the crowd saying, "I'm here! I'm here, sorry about the wait."

"Hope your ready. You're up next and I think Cirno's pretty close to getting boo'd off the stage." said Annette, her arms crossed with one hand holding a clipboard with the talent show schedule.

"You suck!" A distant shout from the crowd could be heard all the way in the backrooms. The sound of ice firing from the stage, followed by a slashing blade and the falling of a body signalled the end of Cirno's performance.

"Here's the problem child back, take good care of her!" said Yuyuko as she delivered Cirno from the stage to the backroom and summoned Alice. She walked up with a handful of custom-made puppets that looked strikingly similar to the otherworldly outsider gang that showed up months ago.

"Alright, next is Nitori and Luna, get lined up and ready!" barked Annette.

"She didn't do too well. I hope this next one will be better." commented Lunasa behind me.

"I hope she'll be okay, Youmu cut her pretty deep." said Melody, holding her hair down as the breeze kicked up some. She couldn't shake off this bad vibe she was getting around her, but she wasn't about to say anything and worry the others.

"Ah, she's "the strongest fairy there ever was"," Lyrica mimicked Cirno, "she'll be up in a few minutes or less."

Melody kept quiet as she watched the show, which worried me already. I looked over to her and found her staring off in the distance occasionally. Sometimes I'd shake her out of it and ask her what was wrong, her denying any problems.

"Relax and enjoy the show, sister, everything's gonna be alright." I comforted her, resting my hand atop her leg and smiling. She tried to smile back, but couldn't keep it up for long, turning her head back to the stage to watch Alice's performance. Alice had a group of puppets that looked suspiciously like my family and I and my friends as well. A few people from back stage helped set up a small sort of castle-like structure that was painted to look like the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Boy, doesn't this look familiar..." I sighed. Alice's skill with puppetry perfectly replicated the scene by which us outsiders arrived here on Gensokyo. As much as I wanted to take this horrifying experience out of my mind permanantly, her skill was so good that I kept watching regardless. Her puppets even spoke with nearly the same exact tone and words. It was the perfect puppet show. At the end, everyone gave a roar of cheering and clapping. Alice, blushing and bowing along with her puppets, quickly left the stage as Youmu stepped back onto it.

"A great performance from Alice-chan. Next up is a waterworks display from Nitori Kawashiro and Luna Venitus!" said Yuyuko, greeting the duo with clapping as she stepped off the stage and back down to the grandstands. Luna and Nitori stood side by side, channeling water from nearby sources, gathering it up and making a list of designs with it. As their water sources grew, so did their designs. Around halfway into their performance, they divided their water between each other. Two towering giants of water that spanned the whole stage grounds fought between each other. They were both armed with a sword and shield, spilling water on the stage floor as they dug into each other with their swords. Luna and Nitori stood behind their watery creations without making hardly a move. It was like their watery knights had minds of their own. Once the two beasts were brought down by one another, the girls grew fancy with their watery creations. They simulated a tidal wave that looked like it was about to come crashing down on the audience. At it's peak, it slowly started to curl into itself, shifting into a cylinder of water that spanned at least a good yard or two in width.

I heard Nitori whisper to herself, "I'm starting to get a little tired..."

The cylinder unfolded itself to make a ceiling of water over the audience. It shook and vibrated over us, making an interesting visual filter as everyone looked up to the starry sky masked by water. It started shaking more and more, then at it's peak, I could hear Nitori say, "I can't hold it anymore!"

The water splashed down on us, soaking everyone at the grandstands. My clothes drooped down along with my hair.

"Well, that could've ended better." sighed Nitori, vanishing into thin air.

"Hey, don't leave me!" shouted Luna, dashing away in fear.

"Well, that was exhilirating! A big round of applause for the two!" Yuyuko started clapping, but nobody else did. The crowd just exchanged aggravating looks with her while letting water drip from their faces.

"Anyways, lets move on to our next performers! Grace-chan and I will be having an eating contest!" cheered Yuyuko, trying to keep her audience entertained rather than pissed off. Grace, getting up from her seat at the overseers booth and moving to the stage. Annette and Aurora helped bring out tables while Youmu retrieved two plates filled with tempura. Yuyuko and Grace took their seats at their respective tables. Youmu and Akyuu took control of counting how much the two ate. At the count of three, the duo quickly dug into their respective plates of food. I had a feeling that Grace already had this challenge in the bag, but I couldn't judge yet. I've only just met Yuyuko, but if the rumors of the "Hungry Ghost" are true, Grace is screwed.

"Hey, space case, you alright there?" asked Lyrica, tapping on Melody's shoulder. Melody's head went from being hung low to quickly raised up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." she denied.

"Melody-chan, I can tell when something's up, talk to me! We're given voices for a reason, you know." replied Lyrica. I was listening in on the two but I still kept my eyes on Grace and Yuyuko, quickly finishing one plate after another.

"I guess...something just doesn't feel right here." said Melody quietly, looking up to Lyrica who sat on the row behind her.

Lyrica shook her head and smiled, "You need to relax, you aren't gonna play as well if you're all tensed up."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I'll give it my all." said Melody with a determined voice.

There was a loud thump coming from the stage followed by clapping.

"Well, Grace's down for the count." I commented, getting Melody and Lyrica's attention.

"She's gonna have some serious stomach problems after shoveling all that food." said Lunasa.

"Nah, she's a heavy eater, she'll be just fine." Melody and I said together. We shared a quick laugh as we clapped for Yuyuko, the champion of the eating contest. Annette helped carry Grace backstage where she could rest.

Yuyuko, now standing from her table, clapped and said "A round of applause for my competitor!"

The crowd cheered for both of the girls, still wet from the waterworks earlier. The sounds of wet palms colliding ceased when Yuyuko presented the last performers of the night. The last performance was going to be a blade fight between Sakuya and Aurora, something I was dying to see. Sadly though, I had to get ready for the concert after them, so I wont get to see the two fight.

"Come on, everyone! Let's get ready!" Merlin cheered as she drifted away from our reserved seats in the grandstand. I followed them with Melody in tow, moving to the backrooms of the stage grounds. As I walked to there, I was greeted by Yuyuko.

"Good luck with the concert!" she said, walking back to the grandstands. I thanked her and quickly bowed as I walked into the backrooms.

"Ready, bro?" Annette asked, checking off things on her clipboard with her eyes darting back and forth from the clipboard to me.

I had my guitar summoned and was tuning it properly, it's strings lengthening and shortening, "Yeah, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Annette gave a soft chuckle and said, "You'll probably do great as usual dude, same with the rest of ya."

The crowd made soft gasps and sounds of sympathy as blood spilt on the stage.

"Medic!" a distant voice shouted. I didn't even know there was a medic around here. If it's that Eirin girl, I'll have to relocate her and talk to her later. I wondered who it was that got hit, but when both Aurora and Sakuya were rushed to the backrooms, I quickly pieced together the puzzle. They're both perfectly lethal in the same ways, it'll be a tie no matter how many times they fight. I could see Melody worry even more about her fallen friends.

"Do good out there, Will."

"You too Melody, do your best, Remilia's been eager to hear you perform."

Aurora and Sakuya tried to cheer us on, both of them lacking the breath to speak. I hoped myself that they'd be okay, they were coated in cuts and scars.

"And that's the end of the talent show! I hope everyone enjoyed it!" Yuyuko said with a roar from the crowd in response. I made final adjustments on my guitar and readied myself to play as Yuyuko greeted us. She summoned us from the depths of the backrooms, all of us holding our instruments in hand. The crowd cheered and clapped as we stepped on stage. Melody and I made sure to avoid the splattered blood that was still on the stage.

"Hello everyone! We are the Prismriver Sisters!" greeted Lyrica. The crowd cheered louder than ever before and died down just as fast as it rose.

"Today we have two extra performers with us today!" continued Merlin.

"Please give a warm welcome for guitarist, Will, and our second keyboardist, Melody." finished Lunasa, spawning another clapping session from the crowd. Melody and I gave quick bows and rose quickly to begin playing.

"Will, your turn to start talking." Lyrica whispered in my ear. I really didn't want to be the one speaking before a large crowd, my chances of embarassing myself are a little higher than I'd like. I summoned all the courage I could and said, "What's up, Gensokyo? Ready for some music?"

The crowd cheered in response, so far so good in my eyes.

"We have five songs ready for tonight, completely original and the first time they've ever been performed for an audience. First up is Deaf to All But the Song!" I prompted the band to start. I could tell this was going to be a very long concert already, my heart was pumping alot faster than it should be...

"He's doing good out there tonight." May commented to herself as she snapped a good hundred or so photos of her boyfriend playing in the band. After time was up for the photo-taking competition, the winner in the end was actually May! She not only won, but also told the other two girls to share their photos all around, saying "they needed them more than she did". Aya and Hatate were hesitant about working together in any way, but calmly exchanged what photos they could with each other.

"He fits right in with the sisters. Never thought anyone was as good as them." commented Hatate, still taking occasional pictures with her spirit camera.

"He's pretty skilled and also makes himself the center of attention, just what i need for my newspaper." continued Aya, taking photos of every angle she could.

"That's Will for ya, wouldn't have him any other way." said May, finishing up her photography and stashing her phone away.

"So who are you interrogating this time, bird-brain?" asked a blonde-haired girl approaching from behind Aya and Hatate.

"Ayaya! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Aya jumped forward and away from Annette, standing behind her with both arms crossed. Annette was thankful to get away from the backrooms of the stage, but she still had plenty of energy to bullshit with the others.

"Scared much? You act like I was about to punch you or something." said Annette.

Aya scoffed as she took a break from photography and said, "I wasn't scared, you just caught me off guard."

"You were scared, just admit it, it'll be something good for me to put in my newspaper." said Hatate, May and Annette laughing. Aya kept quiet and continued taking pictures of the band playing and occasional other things that she found to be of interest.

"He's really going hard at it isn't he?" asked Annette, stepping up to May's side.

"Like always. I think Corey's natural workaholic personality is rubbing off on him."

Annette smirked and said, "Oh, he'll be fine and you know it."

"Yeah..." May's attention zoomed off towards a certain miko sitting alone in the distance, watching the band's performance from a grassy knoll with a large tree on it.

"Hey, you wanna do me a favor?" asked May, her eyes meeting Annette's. Annette raised her brow in response.

"Keep an eye on these two and make sure they don't try killing each other." said May as she walked off to the grassy knoll where Reimu sat. The breeze blew her hair every which way while she stared up at the stars above, mainly towards the moon that was still visible even in Hakugyokurou. May sat next to Reimu, hardly getting her attention.

"Hey." Reimu greeted casually, taking her eyes from the stars and moon above and giving her gaze to May.

"Hey, why're you all alone over here?" asked May.

"It's nothing. Just didn't want to be in the way of anyone I guess." replied Reimu with a weary tone.

May chuckled and said, "You wouldn't be in anyone's way. You should be around your friends alot around a time like this."

"Yeah, maybe. So why aren't you around your friends?"

"I am, I'm around one right now." said May slyly.

Reimu spared May a warm smile and a shrug.

"It feels nice nice up here, the breeze is so warm." May said with a dreamy voice.

"Yeah, it's not blazing hot like it still is down in Gensokyo."

"Speaking of that, I take it the whole problem with the unbearable summer was fixed?" asked May, her memory flashing back to something Melody said about the matter. Her memory wasn't good enough to recollect the whole thing, but ever since then she's noticed that it's not nearly as hot as it used to be.

"Not just yet. Summer's back to normal, but there's still some loose ends to tie up." replied Reimu, still watching the band play down below.

"Will told me about the plan, is it really safe?" May lied. She knew nothing of what was going on other than what Melody told her.

"I had a feeling he'd let you all know what's going on. Yeah, I want to see what makes that creature tick. That sort of rage isn't natural, and sending it up to the moon isn't helping the situation any. It'll just be best to try to communicate with that thing." explained Reimu, letting out a long sigh. She laid down on the grassy knoll and kept her eyes up on the stars.

"Take good care of Will, okay? Promise?"

"Don't worry, I promise to take good care of him." replied Reimu with an easy-going smile and voice.

"Thanks. I don't know where I'd be without him." said May, laying down next to Reimu to watch the stars with her.

"I know what you mean. I have people in my life that are the same way."

"Like a certain black witch we know?"

May and Reimu laughed to themselves, Reimu moreso since she knows just about all there is to know about Marisa. The two talked about what their lives have been like with the people they know, all while watching the curious and magnificent stars above, the music of legends playing not far below them. The concert grew to a close finally, the music stopped.

"Thank you everyone for listening, enjoy the rest of the festival!" I finished, stepping off stage with my legs weary and heart making me feel uneasy.

"I think that was a complete success!" cheered Merlin.

"We could've used more practice, but I have to agree this time, we did well." continued Lunasa.

"I think I can feel my heart sink down to my bowels..." I sighed, the uneasiness in my body refusing to go away. I'm not used to performing live or anything, I still remember the hell I went through when Stella pulled me onstage out of the blue in her nightclub.

"Will, are you going to be alright?" asked Melody, sitting down with me on a box of equipment. The three poltergeist sisters looked at me with concern while my stomach grumbled and moaned. That nervousness was playing hell with my stomach and I started to feel really sick right about now.

"I'll go get Eirin, she'll be able to help..."

"No, no, I'll be alright. Just give me a minute." I cut off Merlin. I appreciated the thought, but I really didn't want her sticking any more needles in me, plus there's the pickyness of my Reformed DNA that could easily mess with any antidote she put in me. What cures a stomach ache for humans could turn a Reformed into a blob of goo on the ground. Finally, I hit my breaking point. I rushed out of the backstage and threw my guts up.

"Will..." Melody despaired.

"It'll be alright, he's just got his first gig jitters. Everyone goes through it." Lyrica comforted her, offering to take her to go get something to eat. She tried to take her mind off her sick brother so she can go help herself for now. I didn't mind, I honestly didn't. She has a life too, she needn't worry all the time about me. I hope they treat her well, she did great tonight.

"It seems even the mighty have fallen." commented a voice behind me.

"Oh great..." I sighed, vomiting again.

"Come on, let's get you all patched up." Eirin said behind me, offering her hand.

"You pump one expirimental drug in me and so help me..."

"Relax, I've got something that's completely safe and will work in no time."

I took her word, something I had the feeling I'd regret later. I took her hand and tried to swallow the disgusting things in my mouth long enough to get patched up. She took me to the strange building nearby that I saw on the way in where Aurora and Sakuya were fast asleep and on their way to healing. Eirin had a spare bed for me to lay down on as she gave me a tea filled with herbs that would help me heal. As I took as sip, I gagged on the taste but eventually pulled it down. Outside, I could hear gasping and screaming and the like. My mind wanted to see what was going on, but my stomach demanded that I stay back and drink my tea and take a nap.

"Eirin, what's going on?" I asked, taking another sip of my tea. Her eyes widened, but she just closed the door and came back inside.

"Nothing too important, you just lay back and relax, okay?" She tried to put on a fake smile to put me at ease. I pretended that it worked and laid down once I finished my tea. Little did I know, I was missing out on all the fun outside...

A list of things were going on outside. Rena and Satomi and Kana were still being pestered by Mystia, May and Reimu watched the stars above, Corey and Reiuji were hanging out, Stella and Annette were looking for the still absent Luna, Grace was still passed out from eating too much, and the stage was slowly beginning to gain a mind of it's own. Nobody needed it right then, but that didn't stop it from trapping some poor souls in it's backrooms, silencing their shouts for help as the scaffolding began to form arms. Once it had total control over a pair of wooden arms, it slammed it's mighty fists all around the festival grounds, scaring the residents and scattering them while picking some up and throwing them into it's makeshift jailcell that was once the backroom.

"Oh dear, it seems to have wanted to come too..." sighed Yuyuko.

"I'll handle this..."

Yuyuko held a hand out in front of the battle-ready Youmu and said, "Hold on, Youmu. Let's let the shrine maiden do her job here, I'm sure she's eager for a challenge, same goes for Marisa."

Reimu, Alice, and Annette had command over this fight. Fire and water users couldn't fight with something that could hurt the captives inside the backrooms. Burning and possible drowning wouldn't be too positive of a fate for the poor prisoners. Yuyuko and Youmu stood at the sides and away from the angered stage while Reimu and the others fought. Annette and Alice synchronized their attacks to distract it's flailing arms while Reimu pounded it with her ofunda.

"Brutal Wind: Tempest Warhammer!" Annette conjured a large warhammer in her hands with an intent of smashing one of the beast's arms off. She spread danmaku fire everywhere on the stage, but kept herself on a leash so that she wouldn't injure any of the captives in the back. She couldn't smash any of the arms but she at least kept it busy long enough for Reimu to unleash a spell card of her own.

"Divine Spirit: Fantasy Seal!" Reimu declared her spell card, summoning a huge flood of shots that homed in on the stage-beast. It pelted it with just enough fire to expel a small figure from the top of the stage. It had some air-time before smacking onto the floor, nearly unconcious.

"What do we have here?" Alice asked, her dolls floating behind her.

"That's what I'm wondering." Annette continued.

Reimu sighed as she picked up the unconcious poltergeist girl, "One way to find out..."

"What have we here?" asked Eirin as Reimu brought in a ghostly girl in a black and yellow dress with arrows lining the trims of it. Her dress was long, but her lower legs still showed, wrapped with yellow ribbons. Her shoes were yellow platform shoes, not tall but not short either.

"Can you even inject a cure into a poltergeist?" asked Alice, her dolls stowed away somewhere. They weren't floating behind her anymore, so she had to have done something with them. Perhaps she put them in that strange dimension girls seem to have with them at all times?

"It's complicated, but yes, you can." said Eirin as she prepared a shot.

"So she's the one that's been going around and possessing trees and stuff..." I said to myself, alot louder than I had intended.

"A youkai with the power of possession is probably the most frightening thing a traveler could ever see. She could strike anywhere and at any time. But my question is why she'd want to in the first place?" said Eirin, injecting the now-sleeping youkai with a green liquid. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say she was poisoning the poor poltergeist.

"We're going to find out one way or another. Are you weakening her like I told you?" asked Reimu, her arms crossed as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

Eirin cleaned out the syringe and said, "Yes, yes, don't worry. She'll be up in a few minutes or less, but she'll find that the only thing she'll be possessing is basic speech."

Nearby, a sleeping Grace was snoring loud enough to wake the dead and possibly a few poltergeists.

"Oi, what is that dreadful noise?" asked the waking poltergeist, her voice charmed with a strange accent. I felt obligated to tune out Grace's noise using my powers. I wanted to hear this one's excuse as to why she's so violent to everyone to the point of sabotaging the stage.

"Now that you're awake, explain your reason behind attacking everyone. Now." demanded Reimu with little patience.

"Hehe, you humans. All the lotta ya are all so impatient."

"You wanna explain or do I need to unload on you again?" asked Reimu, preparing a pair of danmaku with her now uncrossed arms.

"Okay, okay. I was one of the many youkai trapped in the caves on your damned Gensokyo. Ever since our leader let us all out, we've been in the mood for some revenge." said the poltergeist, laying back on the floor with her eyes aimed at the cloth ceiling of Eirin's medical tent.

"You want to explain a little further?" commanded Reimu.

I grew tired of the poltergeist's cryptic answers and took things into my own hands. Reimu's blunt approach wasn't getting us anywhere. I took command of the conversation and asked, "Let's start off simple, what's your name?"

"Kata Kazuru. How about yours, flesh sacks?"

"Why should our name's be any..."

I held out my hand to stop Reimu from talking and said, "I'm Will Venitus, and this here is Reimu Hakurei. Pleased to meet you Kata-san."

"Just call me Kata, I hate formalities." she replied quickly, humming a tune to herself in between talking like she was trying to tune us out.

"Okay, Kata, who's this leader you were talking about?" I asked politely and slowly, Eiring and Reimu keeping silent while I try to conduct diplomacy with the carefree poltergeist.

"Why should I tell you anything flesh sack?" said the rude poltergeist.

I snapped my fingers and, using my powers, generated a sonic noise that polluted Kata's ears and her ears alone. She held her ears in pain and rolled about the floor shouting, "Oi, make it stop, make it stop, I'll talk, I'll talk dammit!"

I hushed the noise and let her get up and look at me with an angry expression.

"Our leader is Kuria Saito, leader of the lost cave expedition. Now, that's all I'm telling you, leave me alone and let me enjoy the rest of the festival and I wont cause anymore problems."

"Good enough, you can leave." I held the tent flap open for her. As she neared me, she shot a quick yellow danmaku bullet at my still delicate belly. I wretched over as I threw up again and fell to the floor.

"Little bitch, I'm gonna kill her!" I shouted, holding my stomach.

"Sounds like someone needs a sedative." commented Reimu.

"Bite me."

"Sounds like someone just needs a little sake! Here, Will-kun, have some of the good stuff!" Suika appeared randomly, pouring sake down my throat without my consent. The rush of the alcohol felt good and tasted great, but I couldn't breath and was likely to projectile vomit at this rate. I turned my head away and hopped up to my feet and wiped off my face.

"Thanks Suika, but the last thing I need is to," I stopped midsentence and felt my whole body start turning limp as a noodle. I sat down as my head started to spin in circles.

"I think you're already drunk, Will-kun!" cheered Suika, sitting down next to me with a smile, holding me close to her with her arm while holding her sake gourd in her other hand.

"Y-yeah, this probably isn't good..." I sighed as my stomach grumbled again. This time, instead of vomiting again, I could feel a disturbance in my lower bowels. I reared over on my butt away from Suika and let out a sub-sonic fart that rattled the foundations of the tent.

Grace shot up from her coma and said, "What the bloody hell was that?"

Everyone in the tent pointed to me as I wore a drunken smile on my face.

"Sweet, brother's drunk! Me next!" Grace swiped the gourd from Suika and clogged her throat with the rich sake. Once she finished her large gulps, she handed the gourd back and said, "That's the good shit right there!"

Suika let out a hardy laugh with Grace and I.

"Eirin, we have a few casualties from the stage's backroom. Where should I put them?" asked Alice, helping two girls into the tent. Luckily, none of them were relatives or friends of mine, at least, not that I could tell from my blurry vision.

"Alright you three, go get drunk somewhere else, I've got work to do." Eirin shoo'd us away, helping the injured ones down on a set of futons. Our drunken group huddled together and moved as a synchronized group towards the front of the stage where we drunk to our hearts content.

"Will! I was worried about you!" Melody ran up to me and hugged onto me, resting her head on my shoulder while she let her worries out.

"Hey hun! I was *hic* worried about you too!" I said with a shakey voice. I let out another sub-sonic fart that shook my whole head around and smelled of a foul odor.

"Oh hell, are you drunk? Crap, crap, what do I do?"

"Relax, Will is in no danger. I've perfected the antidote to any ill effects alcohol will have on his body. I had Grace inject you all with a purging agent that'll keep any effects from being permanant." said Aurora, being one of the many people that was held captive by Kata.

"He'll be okay? You're sure?" asked Melody with a worried voice.

"Don't worry so much, everything will be okay." assured Aurora, sitting above the four on top of the stage floor.

"Hey, look! The fireworks are starting!" Grace pointed a shakey finger at the sky, lit up now with spectacular explosions.

"Remember, kiddo, focus your firestorms on mine." Corey reminded Reiuji.

"I know, Corey-kun! I know!" said Reiuji, wearing a happy smile as the two alternated fire. Corey had his tank cannon ready and his rocket launcher on his left arm. Corey would launch a barrage of fire up to the sky and Reiuji would fire some nuclear fire of her own up there to make multi-colored explosions in the sky that made the whole night sky light up like a supernova. They launched volleys and volleys of bullets, decorating the night sky for all to see.

"Corey-kun?"

"Yeah? Something wrong?" asked Corey, his head looking over to Reiuji.

Reiuji smiled and said, "Thanks for coming with me to the festival."

"You're welcome little firebird, you're more than welcome." Corey smiled back and then looked up back up to the night sky. They made designs with the fire halfway in, making stars, hearts, and even the troll-face Corey saw once on the Omniweb long ago. How Reiuji knew it was beyond him, but he truly enjoyed spending quality time with his new friends in Gensokyo. I could honestly say I was the same way. Reimu, Marisa, and even Alice sat around with me as we watched the fireworks, all three of them as drunk as I was.

"Th-those lights are really bright!" Grace stuttered, taking another drink of Suika's gourd as she passed it around between us.

"Those are lights? I thought they were fairies!" said Marisa, her words intact but her mind not so much.

"This is the most awesome festival I've ever been to, and these are the most awesome people I could ever be around. I love Gensokyo." I said aloud by accident, confusing mental talk with physical talk. I let out another sub-sonic fart and held my head back with my eyes looking up at Reimu, who sat above me on the stage. She gave me an aggravated look and tapped me on the top of my head with her gohei.

I gave a fake pout and started laughing, her doing the same. Despite my drunken state, I could easily tell that coming here to Gensokyo was the best thing that could've ever happened this summer. I loved this place, I loved the people, and I loved the parties!


End file.
